Department for Transport

Railways: Penalty Fares

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to monitor the fairness with which rail companies issue penalty fares notices.

Claire Perry: The Department is responsible for the policy and legal framework under which penalty fares operate in England and Wales. Train operators that have opted to have a penalty fares scheme must operate it in accordance with Department rules. The rules are designed to be fair, appropriate and consistent. The penalty fares system is designed to be run by the industry and the Department relies on Passenger Focus (a statutory independent watchdog for rail passengers) to oversee arrangements, as they are best placed to do so. The Department has regular dialogue with Passenger Focus about a range of issues, including the administration of penalty fares, to inform its view on the effectiveness of the current arrangements.

Road Works

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will take steps to make utility companies more accountable for traffic delays arising from their street works.

Mr Robert Goodwill: Utility companies have statutory powers to carry out works to maintain or install their apparatus in the street to provide the services that we all rely on. Under the New Roads and Street Works Act 1991, the street authority has a duty to co-ordinate all works on its road network in order to minimise inconvenience to road users, and utilities have a duty to co-operate with them in doing that. The Traffic Management Act 2004 also places a 'Network Management Duty' on authorities to keep traffic moving as far as practical. In 2012 the Government increased the penalties that local authorities can impose where street works by utility companies overrun their agreed duration, up to a maximum charge of £10,000 a day.

Torbay

Mr Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many visits were made by Ministers of his Department to Torbay constituency in the 12 months to 14 October 2014; whom the invitation for each such visit was issued by; and what the cost to the public purse was of each such visit.

Claire Perry: No ministerial visits were made to Torbay constituency in the specified period. As is the convention, however, Members of Parliament would be notified in advance of any Ministerial visits to their constituency if they were to occur.

Roads: Accidents

Ian Paisley: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what support the Government is providing to the Police Service of Northern Ireland to reduce the number of deaths on Northern Ireland's roads.

Mr Robert Goodwill: Policing in Northern Ireland is devolved; road safety is a matter for the Department of the Environment in Northern Ireland working with Police Service NI and other road safety partners. My officials work closely with their Northern Irish counterparts.

Pedestrians: Accidents

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the change in the number of (a) road fatalities and (b) serious incidents resulting from collisions between vehicles and pedestrians was in each of the last 10 years.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The table below gives the number of reported accidents involving at least one pedestrian and at least one vehicle (including pedal cycles) where at least one casualty was killed or seriously injured and the number of fatalities and serious injury casualties in these accidents split by pedestrian and non-pedestrians in Great Britain; 2004 -2013.



UIN 210780 - table - accidents and casualties
(Excel SpreadSheet, 35.5 KB)

Home Office

Illegal Immigrants: Greenwich

Teresa Pearce: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many of her Department's officials have been deployed in (a) total and (b) Greenwich as part of Operation Skybreaker.

James Brokenshire: The information requested will not be released in the public domain as it could prejudice future Immigration Enforcement operations. However, resources are deployed in conjunction with intelligence received and can vary dependant on the size of the operation.

Sexual Offences Prevention Orders

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many sexual offence prevention orders have been implemented in the last 12 months.

Norman Baker: Figures for the number of sexual offences prevention orders imposed by the courts are contained in the Multi Agency Public Protection Arrangements Annual Report, published by the Ministry of Justice. The report covering the period from April 2013 to March 2014 is due to be published in late October. MAPPA reports for 2009-2013 may be found on the GOV.uk website.

Crime: Stafford

Jeremy Lefroy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of trends in the level of crime in Stafford constituency in each of the last five years; and if she will make a statement.

Norman Baker: The table provided shows the number of offences in the Stafford Community Safety Partnership in each of the past five years. According to the latest police recorded crime figures (published on 16th October), crime has fallen by more than 20% over the last five years in the Partnership.The data requested are also published on the Home Office website, and can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/police-recorded-crime-open-data-tables  Table A: Police Recorded Crime (excluding fraud) in the Stafford Community Safety Partnership, year to June 2009 to year to June 2014  Numbers YearTotal offencesYear to June 20107,200Year to June 20116,765Year to June 20126,340Year to June 20135,286Year to June 20145,5361. Source: Police recorded crime, Home Office2. Police recorded crime data are not designated as National Statistics.3. Action Fraud have taken over the recording of fraud offences on behalf of individual police forces. This process began in April 2011 and was rolled out to all police forces by March 2013. To enable comparison of data across the five year period, fraud data have been excluded.

Slavery

Graham Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many copies of her Department's publication Modern Slavery: how the UK is leading the fight have been printed to date; at what cost; and to whom that publication has been distributed.

Karen Bradley: The ‘Modern Slavery: how the UK is leading the fight’ booklet was published in the summer as part of our wider communications campaign to raise awareness that slavery exists in the UK. The booklet provides details of the Government’s comprehensive programme of activity to tackle modern slavery, including: information about how the Modern Slavery Bill will both help law enforcement to fight the crime more effectively and enhance protection and support for victims; detail of how we will ensure relevant partners will play their part; additional work being undertaken to improve victims identification, protection and support; work to safeguard child victims; partnerships with the private sector; and how we our developing our international response. 600 copies of the booklet have been printed at a cost of £192.84.The booklet has been distributed widely to Parliamentarians, civil society groups, and youth Parliament members. All copies printed to date have been distributed. The booklet is also available online via the GOV.UK website and PDF copies have additionally been distributed.

Crime: South Yorkshire

Michael Dugher: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the consequences for police resources of trends in the level of crime in (a) Barnsley East constituency and (b) South Yorkshire in each of the last three years.

Mike Penning: As the independent inspectorate of constabulary has made clear, there is no simple link between resource levels - including the number of officers - and crime levels. What matters is how officers are deployed, not how many of them there are. Ultimately, decisions on the size and composition of a police force’s workforce are for individual chief officers and Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs). The independent inspectorate of constabulary’s latest Valuing the Police report (from July 2014) highlights that forces are balancing their books while protecting the frontline and delivering reductions in crime.The Government is conducting a fundamental review of the Police Allocation Formula (PAF). The first phase of this work, an internal analytical review, is already underway. A precise timescale for implementation of revised funding arrangements has yet to be determined. However, this will not be until 2016/17 at the earliest. We will consult with the full range of partners at an appropriate point in the development of this work.

Human Trafficking: Victim Support Schemes

Graham Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Answer of 4 February 2014 to Question 902388, how many victims of human trafficking received pre-trial therapy and counselling in accordance with the victims' code service in each of the last three years; what the cost to the public purse was of such therapy; and if she will make a statement.

Karen Bradley: The Government funds the Adult Human Trafficking Care and Co-ordination contract which ensures that potential victims of trafficking receive appropriate care and support once they have been identified. As part of this contract and in compliance with our international obligations (Council of Europe Convention and the EU Directive on Trafficking in Human Beings), the Home Office has made it a core requirement for the Contractor to provide access to a range of specialist services, including therapy and counselling, to victims of trafficking who request or require it. Such services are not necessarily related to pre-trial circumstances. Most victims of trafficking who are assisting the police are usually called to trial after they have left the service. As a result, pre-trial therapy and counselling would be received from other sources and not under the contract. For this reason, the Home Office does not collect the requested information.

Missing Persons

Dr Julian Huppert: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what support her Department provides for adults who have gone missing and returned to prevent them going missing again.

Dr Julian Huppert: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the use of return interviews for vulnerable people who were missing and have returned.

Norman Baker: The Home Office has provided the charity Missing People £220,000 per annum since 2010/11. This funding supports the delivery of the charity’s 24hour helpline for missing people and their families, and publicity services that the charity provides. This improves the outcomes for missing people and their families and helps reduce the risk and duration of disappearances, mitigating the risks of harm that missing children and vulnerable adults are exposed to during a missing episode.No assessment has been made of return interviews for vulnerable people who go missing.A new framework is being launched in early November by the National Crime Agency’s UK Missing Persons Bureau. This framework, entitled "Missing from Care - A multi-agency approach to protecting vulnerable adults", is designed to provide increased safeguards for vulnerable adults who go missing. The framework recommends a de-brief ‘return interview’ be conducted within 72 hours for all missing or absent incidents; to be conducted by the vulnerable person’s designated carer or an independent professional.

Nitrous Oxide

Mr David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many letters her Department sent to festival organisers regarding supply of nitrous oxide in 2014; and what response she received to those letters.

Norman Baker: The Home Office does not monitor the sale of nitrous oxide in legitimate products. Our concerns about the availability and use of nitrous oxide at summer festivals was highlighted in my letter to 30 festivals organisers earlier this year. I asked them to take steps to prevent its sale and use for recreational purposes. The letter was copied to the relevant local authority and police force for each of the festival sites. There has been a positive response from festival organisers to this and the efforts of other partners, including reports that some organisers adopted a "no legal high" policy which extended to nitrous oxide.

Nitrous Oxide

Mr David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the prevalence of the sale of nitrous oxide in catering products for the purpose of recreational inhalation.

Norman Baker: The Home Office does not monitor the sale of nitrous oxide in legitimate products. Our concerns about the availability and use of nitrous oxide at summer festivals was highlighted in my letter to 30 festivals organisers earlier this year. I asked them to take steps to prevent its sale and use for recreational purposes. The letter was copied to the relevant local authority and police force for each of the festival sites. There has been a positive response from festival organisers to this and the efforts of other partners, including reports that some organisers adopted a "no legal high" policy which extended to nitrous oxide.

Slavery

Graham Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what (a) training and (b) financial assistance the Government has provided to local authorities to tackle human trafficking and modern slavery in each year from 2011 to 2014 to date.

Karen Bradley: No training or financial assistance has been provided directly to local authorities, by the Home Office, to tackle human trafficking and modern slavery in the years 2011-2014. In 2013, three Non-Government Organisations were awarded total grant funding of approximately £75,000 by the Home Office to provide training to a range of local professionals, including those working in local authorities. Home Office funding of £420,000 is being provided to Barnardo’s to fund independent child advocacy service trials for a period of twelve months in 23 local authorities.

Human Trafficking

Graham Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what procedures her Department has in place to ensure that reliable victim evidence can be gathered and presented in court during prosecutions for trafficking.

Karen Bradley: The Government funds the Adult Human Trafficking Care and Co-ordination contract which ensures that potential victims of trafficking receive appropriate care and support once they have been identified. As part of this contract and in compliance with our international obligations (Council of Europe Convention and the EU Directive on Trafficking in Human Beings), the Home Office has made it a core requirement for the Contractor to provide assistance to victims at appropriate stages of criminal proceedings against offenders. The Contractor is also required to cooperate with the police and judicial service in order to assist in the prosecution of potential offenders particularly when requests for information are made.Such assistance includes:• explaining to victims the relevant procedures relating to the prosecution of offenders; • encouraging victims to cooperate with any police enquiries and with the wider justice system. • explaining to victims where relevant, what role they will have in court proceedings; and • facilitating access to independent legal support for victims and where appropriate assisting victims to apply for Legal Aid. In addition, the police have raised awareness amongst its officers about the need to ensure that victims are at the centre of any modern slavery investigation, this awareness includes how to conduct interviews with traumatised potential victims in order to ensure that they are able to provide the most comprehensive information required to assist in prosecutions.

Slavery

Graham Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much her Department has spent on (a) raising greater public awareness of modern slavery, (b) providing detailed information on the numbers and locations of victims of trafficking and traffickers and (c) specific police forces' campaigns to tackle modern slavery.

Karen Bradley: The Home Office is spending £2.3million on a modern slavery publicity campaign to raise greater public awareness of modern slavery and encourage reporting to the new modern slavery helpline, launched on 31 July. This includes the costs of all planning, media buying, agency fees and production. Detailed information on the numbers and locations of victims of trafficking and traffickers is provided by the Salvation Army and the National Crime Agency. Specific funding is not provided by the Home Office for this purpose; it is funded through existing resource costs.The Home Office does not hold information on the costs of specific police force campaigns. This information is held by the individual police forces.

Slavery

Graham Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, who is invited to her Department's Modern Slavery Operation meetings; what the purpose of those meetings is; when the last such meeting was; and if she will place in the Library a copy of the minutes of that meeting.

Karen Bradley: The Modern Slavery Operational Leads meeting is held monthly and is chaired by myself. The purpose of the meeting is to engage with law enforcement agencies to ensurethat effective investigations are carried out which can lead to successful prosecutionsand it is an opportunity for law enforcement agencies to update the Home Office on recent operations to tackle modern slavery.The following organisations are invited to attend the meeting:• Home Office officials including from the Modern Slavery Unit, UK Border Force, Immigration Enforcement, and Strategy & Delivery Unit;• Cabinet Office officials;• College of Policing;• Crown Prosecution Service;• Gangmasters Licensing Authority;• GCHQ;• HMRC officials;• Metropolitan Police Service – Human Trafficking and Kidnap Unit;• National Crime Agency;• National Policing Lead for Modern Slavery.The most recent meeting took place on 16 October, and the previous meeting was on 8 September. Due to the sensitive nature of the discussions, copies of the minutes will not be published.

Slavery

Graham Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to ensure the independence of the planned Anti-Slavery Commissioner.

Karen Bradley: The independent Anti-slavery Commissioner will encourage good practice in the prevention, detection, investigation and prosecution of modern slavery offences and the identification of victims.They will have the freedom and independence to look at the law enforcement response to modern slavery without fear or favour, and make reports which will highlight where improvements can be made. The Commissioner’s reports will be independent and the Commissioner’s annual report will be laid before Parliament.

National Crime Agency: Northern Ireland

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, on how many occasions she or Ministers in her Department have visited Northern Ireland in the last 12 months to discuss the full implementation of the operations of the National Crime Agency in Northern Ireland.

Karen Bradley: We are committed to resolving this to ensure that the people and communities of Northern Ireland benefit from the full range of the NCA’s capabilities like the rest of the UK. Home Office Ministers have regular meetings with Ministerial colleagues and others. As was the case with previous administrations, it is not the Government's practice to provide details of all such meetings.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Hong Kong

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his Chinese counterpart about the protests in Hong Kong.

Mr Hugo Swire: Most recently, on 14 October, I met Hong Kong’s Secretary of Justice to discuss the situation in Hong Kong. On 6 October, the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) discussed these issues with the Chinese Ambassador. The Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron) and the Foreign Secretary, also discussed Hong Kong in recent meetings with Chinese Vice Premier Ma Kai. Foreign and Commonwealth Office officials have regular contact on this issue with representatives from the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government and Chinese Central People’s Government, principally our Consul General in Hong Kong.

Conflict Pool

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make it his policy for the Cabinet Office to publish annual reports and accounts for spending in the Conflict Pool.

Mr Hugo Swire: The Conflict Pool will cease to operate in its current form in March 2015. The Conflict, Stability and Security Fund (CSSF) will begin operating in April 2015, bringing together a number of new and current Government resources, including the former Conflict Pool. The Government will ensure full reporting to Parliament on the CSSF. Details of this will be confirmed in due course.

Conflict Pool

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, when his Department plans to publish the latest review of the Conflict Pool.

Mr Hugo Swire: I refer the Member for Poplar and Limehouse to the reply which my Rt Hon Friend, the Member for New Forest West (Desmond Swayne MP), Minister of State, Department for International Development, gave the Member for Wirral South on 16 October (UIN 210197).

Conflict Pool

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what the budget for the Conflict Pool was in each of the last four years.

Mr Hugo Swire: Details of Conflict Pool allocations for the past four years were laid before Parliament annually in a Written Ministerial Statement. Links to the Statements for the relevant Financial Years are as follows 2011/12 http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201011/cmhansrd/cm110405/wmstext/110405m0001.htm 2012/13 http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201213/cmhansrd/cm121119/wmstext/121119m0001.htm 2013/14 http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201314/cmhansrd/cm130613/wmstext/130613m0001.htm 2014/15 http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201415/cmhansrd/cm140624/wmstext/140624m0001.htm

ICT

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent progress he has made on improving the quality and transparency of management information across front line services within his Department's Digital Services Performance Platform tool.

Mr David Lidington: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office strongly supports the use of the Performance Platform to improve the quality and transparency of Management Information across government. There are detailed dashboards on four of our services: ‘registering a birth abroad’, ‘registering a death abroad’, ‘certificate to get married abroad’, and ‘document legalisation’. As we move more of our services online we will ensure those new transactions are built in such a way that they too can go onto the performance platform. We are also interested in extending the Performance Platform to cover the non-digital element of our major transactions and intend to scope how that might work in practice.

Colombia

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will hold discussions to ensure that British companies working in Colombia are not involved in land-grab from peasant land-owners.

Mr Hugo Swire: The former Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague) visited Colombia in February this year and discussed business and human rights in his meetings with President Santos, the Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Finance and Trade and with civil society. We have a strong partnership with the government of Colombia on implementation of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, in the context of the November 2011 Joint Declaration on Human Rights. I had a substantive discussion with the Deputy Foreign Minister regarding these matters during my visit to Bogota in June. The Ambassador and Embassy team regularly meet representatives of Civil Society to hear their concerns about human rights in Colombia, including business behaviour. If British firms are involved we raise issues with them as appropriate. The team in Bogota also meets with British companies and encourages adherence to best practice and global standards in their operations.

West Africa

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make it his policy to adopt and promote the recommendations of the West Africa Commission on Drugs in its report, Not Just in Transit, Drugs, the State and Society in West Africa, published on 12 June 2014; and if he will make a statement.

Mr David Lidington: Drug trafficking in West Africa is a multi-million pound business, which damages the social fabric in both West Africa as a region of transit, and in destination countries such as Europe, the Middle East and North America. Tackling drug trafficking in West Africa will require international co-operation and long-term commitment, using a wide range of policy and law enforcement tools. We have noted with interest the conclusions and recommendations of the report by the Kofi Annan Foundation’s West Africa Commission on Drugs, and the report has informed our thinking as we take forward our own activity on this issue. Priority areas for action in the region include bearing down on corruption, strengthening good governance, building regional ability to share information and conduct investigations, improving joint action on borders and cross-border traffic, and building criminal justice capacity. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office will continue to work with the National Crime Agency and the Crown Prosecution Service to strengthen regional capacity in all these areas. The UK is also working with G7 and other international partners to better coordinate serious and organised crime-related assistance in West Africa. A new G7+ Assistance Strategy Committee will meet for the first time in November to set collective assistance priorities for the next five years.

Mali

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his French counterpart on (a) drug and human trafficking and (b) terrorist groups in Mali; and if he will make a statement.

Mr David Lidington: UK officials are in close and regular contact with their French counterparts on Mali, both bilaterally and in multilateral fora such as the UN and the EU. The UK Special Representative for the Sahel has recently visited Mali and will be meeting a number of EU colleagues in the coming days. We remain committed to working with our partners, including France, to bear down on terrorism and organised crime in Mali and the Sahel. Ultimately, stability in Mali will only be possible if there is a political agreement between the Malian government and the various communities in the country. That is why we support the negotiations taking place in Algiers. In the meantime we will work to strengthen the capacity of the UN Mission (MINUSMA) to carry out its important tasks in Mali. We will continue our participation in the EU Training Mission in Mali, and in the new civilian EU Mission whose objective is to strengthen the civilian security forces’ ability to tackle organised crime, including drug and people trafficking. We will also continue to lead the international effort to eradicate the payment of ransoms to kidnappers, which is an important source of funding for terrorist groups.

Saudi Arabia

Mr Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he or his officials have taken to request an update on the whereabouts and wellbeing of the group of 28 Christians who were arrested by Saudi Arabian police at a house prayer meeting at the start of September 2014.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: We are aware of the arrest of the Christians in the city of Khafji in September. We understand that they were released the following day. The British Government strongly supports the right to freedom of religion or belief, which is restricted in Saudi Arabia.

Central African Republic

Mr Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to promote religious tolerance and the safety of Christians in the Central African Republic.

Mr David Lidington: Our priority is to support international efforts to protect the Central African Republic (CAR)'s population from ongoing violence. Addressing religious tensions is an important part of this. The Inter-Religious platform in CAR is made up of Muslim and Christian leaders and has been at the forefront of peace-building and reconciliation efforts, engaging with communities that have been directly affected by sectarian violence in CAR. We welcome their efforts to promote dialogue, and have called for similar actions from CAR's transitional government.

Colombia

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he is taking to introduce human rights training for Colombian aid programmes.

Mr Hugo Swire: The UK does not have a traditional aid programme in Colombia. We have a modest human rights programme which prioritises activities to support human rights defenders, prevention of sexual violence in conflict and business and human rights promotion.Multilateral organisations in which the UK has a share such as the United Nations and the International Development Bank have human rights components built into their initiatives and processes, and where appropriate human rights training included.

Colombia

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will take steps to ensure that intelligence equipment sold to the Colombian navy and army is not used to carry out surveillance on people involved in the Colombian peace talks and process.

Mr Hugo Swire: As with all export licences, each application for Colombia is assessed on a case-by-case basis against the Consolidated EU and National Arms Export Licensing Criteria. We will not issue an export licence if we assess that there is a clear risk that the goods might be used for internal repression.

West Africa

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what his most recent assessment is of the relationship between increasing drug trafficking and the funding of terrorism in West Africa; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: West Africa is a significant transit point for Latin American cocaine bound for Europe. Cannabis is trafficked from Morocco through the Sahel. There is some indication that terrorist cells in the Sahel may tax cannabis drug convoys. There is very little evidence to indicate that terrorist groups in West Africa are involved in cocaine trafficking.

Somalia

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the threat posed by al-Shabab to political stability in Somalia.

Mr David Lidington: Al- Shabaab continues to pose a significant threat to political stability in Somalia. It still controls territory in south central Somalia and seeks to destabilise the Federal Government of Somalia (FGS) and Regional Administrations through asymmetric attacks on political targets and targeted assassinations. But it has suffered a significant loss of territory over the last two years as a result of the African Union Mission in Somalia’s (AMISOM’s) military operation, including the loss on 5 October of the last major seaport under its control. In parallel, the Federal Government of Somalia is increasing its effort to reconcile members of Al Shabaab and put in place functioning political administrations in areas previously controlled by Al Shabaab.

Syria

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the threat posed by Islamic State to the town of Kobane.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: Reports from Kobane continue to be deeply concerning and we are watching the situation closely. Over recent days, however, the defenders of Kobane, supported by coalition airstrikes, have been able to hold their position against ISIL, and in some areas they are pushing back. The moderate opposition have held back ISIL in other parts of Northern Syria. We strongly support the coalition airstrikes that are being carried out in Syria by the United States, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain, and Jordan. As well as supporting international military action to push back ISIL, we are providing technical assistance and non-lethal equipment to the moderate opposition in Syria, whose forces fighting are ISIL on the ground, and providing humanitarian aid to those areas, like Kobane, that have been worst affected by the crisis. The Department for International Development has already responded to the urgent needs of Syrian Kurdish refugees that have fled to Turkey and is in a state of readiness to react swiftly to further developments.

Middle East

Mr Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent progress has been made on efforts to locate and release British abductees kidnapped by extremist groups in the Middle East.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: It is a long-standing British Government policy not to discuss operational details.

Russia

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the effect and effectiveness of existing EU sanctions on Russia.

Mr David Lidington: Sanctions imposed on Russia by the EU in respect of Russia’s actions in Ukraine are designed to impose a cost on Russia, deter further escalation of this crisis, and support the wider diplomatic effort to reach a sustainable solution. EU sanctions already announced have exacerbated negative trends in Russia’s economy: capital flight in the first half of 2014 was greater than for the whole of 2013; and growth predictions have been revised downwards. Russian access to western financial markets is being severely constrained as lenders consider the risks of Russian exposure in the current climate. The strengthening of sanctions is signaling clearly to the Russian leadership that its policy of trying to destabilise Ukraine will continue to have serious consequences.

Malaysia

Mr Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to encourage respect for fundamental freedoms in Malaysia.

Mr Hugo Swire: Through Ministerial contacts, and through our High Commission in Kuala Lumpur, we continue to raise issues of fundamental freedoms at the highest level with the Malaysian authorities. This was a central theme of Baroness Warsi’s visit to Malaysia in April. As well as raising the issue with Malaysian Ministers, she gave a speech on freedom of religion and belief. In September and at Malaysia’s request, a UK expert on hate crimes visited the country to share experience of developing and implementing legislation and wider best practise with counterparts. Our High Commission is also working with the Malaysian Human Rights Commission (Suhakam) to develop a business and human rights action plan building on the UK model.We also raise fundamental freedoms through multilateral mechanisms including via the EU and the UN. This includes the UK’s contribution in October last year to the Universal Periodic Review of Malaysia, taken forward under the auspices of the UN Human Rights Council.

GCHQ

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many US citizens (a) work full time and (b) are seconded to work at the Government Communications Headquarters.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: It is long standing Government policy not to provide a detailed breakdown of staffing at GCHQ sites.

Central Europe

Mr Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he is taking to encourage religious equality and tolerance in central Europe.

Mr David Lidington: Freedom of religion or belief is a priority human rights area for the Government. We work actively to defend it in our bilateral relations with individual countries, including lobbying for changes in discriminatory laws and practices and through our work in multilateral institutions.We also carry out project work in a range of countries working with non-governmental organisations on issues such as promoting better understanding between faiths, bridging sectarian divides, promoting dialogue between faith groups and government and offering technical advice on laws that need amendment.  Although central Europe is not a particular area of focus for us, we do play an active part in the work of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) to share best practice in combating intolerance and discrimination against individuals on the basis of their religion or belief. We participated actively in the recent Human Dimension Implementation meeting in Warsaw, and last year nominated a UK representative to the OSCE’s Advisory Panel of Experts on Freedom of Religion or Belief.

West Africa

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential effects on political stability of the Ebola outbreak in countries having difficulty managing its spread.

Mr David Lidington: The Ebola outbreak has already generated sporadic public order, social and political problems. While we do not anticipate a major breakdown in the countries affected, we recognise the possibility of deterioration and are working to mitigate this risk through increased political messaging, security sector support and though bilateral and multilateral channels. The UK will continue to work with the affected governments, regional bodies such as the Economic Union of West African States and with other international partners to ensure that risks of instability are managed. Since April 2013 the International Security Advisory Team (ISAT) has been supporting the security sectors in Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea to help build economic and political stability. ISAT’s work with Sierra Leone builds on more than ten years of UK support for the country’s security sector following the end of the civil war in 2002.

Iraq

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what estimate has been made of numbers of Yazidi people displaced by Islamic State forces in Northern Iraq.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: ISIL and associated armed groups continue to commit atrocities against Muslims, Christians, Yezidis, Turkmen and other communities throughout the areas under their control. The humanitarian reports are deeply disturbing.The impact ISIL atrocities have had on the Yezidi community and other civilians is tragic.The UN estimates that 1.8 million people in Iraq have been displaced by the humanitarian emergency in total. All UK funded aid is distributed on the basis of need, regardless of ethnicity and therefore we only have displacement data based on need. As a result it is difficult to estimate the exact number of Yezidi people who have been displacedUK aid is reaching displaced people across Iraq, including in the Kurdish region, where many Christians and Yezidis have fled to. We will continue to work with the UN and the international community to ensure peoples’ rights are protected.

Australia

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his Australian counterpart on extremist activity in that country.

Mr Hugo Swire: The Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron), the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) and I discuss this regularly with our counterparts, both in person and on the phone. Most recently, Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott and the Foreign Secretary discussed it when the PM visited the UK in August. I also had a bilateral discussion with FM Julie Bishop at the recent Asia Ministerial Summit in Milan on 16 October where we discussed this issue. Both Australia and the UK are part of the international coalition working together to counter the ISIL threat.

Syria

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what support the UK is providing to rebels operating in Syria.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The British Government continues to provide strong support to the moderate opposition, including technical assistance and non-lethal equipment. The UK has recently increased the amount allocated this financial year to support areas under opposition control and increase the resilience of our regional allies to the effects of the Syria conflict from £30 million to £46 million. Our support along with that of our allies has enabled the Free Syrian police establish 90 police stations in liberated areas. It has supported 600 volunteers in 51 civil defence stations across northern Syria, trained and equipped to carry out search & rescue, fire-fighting and first aid, saving over 2,500 lives. This support has helped to consolidate the moderate opposition as they work to build capacity to deliver governance and essential public services.

Syria

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what reports he has received of Syrian rebels training on Turkish soil.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The British Government are aware of these reports and it is for the Turkish government to comment on. We maintain a close dialogue with Turkey on the crisis in Syria.

Iraq

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many UK nationals have been killed in Iraq since January 2014.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: Not all deaths are registered with the British Embassy or Consulate in Iraq. Our records indicate that five UK nationals have died in Iraq since January 2014 but this is unlikely to represent the total number of deaths.

Spain

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, on how many occasions the Spanish Ambassador to the UK has been summoned to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in 2014.

Mr David Lidington: The Spanish Ambassador has been summoned to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office on two occasions in 2014.

Russia

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his Russian counterpart on Islamic extremism since the beginning of 2014.

Mr David Lidington: The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the member for Runneymede (Mr Hammond) and the Russian Foreign Minister both attended the International Conference in Paris in September to address the threat of the Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL). At the Conference, all attendees agreed there was a need to address the threat of ISIL with a coordinated international effort.

Egypt

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent reports he has received on the political situation in Egypt.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: I receive reports from a variety of sources, including our Embassy in Cairo which engages with a cross-section of Egyptian society. I visited Cairo in August and October this year and discussed the political situation with Government Ministers, political leaders, human rights defenders and civil society. Since January 2014, Egypt has held a constitutional referendum; elected a new President, Abdel Fattah Al Sisi; and is reportedly preparing for parliamentary elections before the end of the year.We believe that a genuinely open political process, in which all political groups are able to participate, will lead to long-term political stability in Egypt. We look to President Al Sisi to take steps to implement the rights contained in Egypt’s constitution; in particular, ensuring freedom of expression and association as well as ensuring that human and legal rights are fully upheld.

Commonwealth

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he is taking to improve economic relations with countries within the Commonwealth.

Mr Hugo Swire: The UK is committed to improving economic relations and strengthening our commercial diplomacy across the Commonwealth. To that end, we welcome and look forward to working with, the new Commonwealth Enterprise and Investment Council (CEIC), under the chairmanship of Lord Marland of Odstock and based in London. We expect Lord Marland's involvement will help the CEIC towards increased trade and investment across the Commonwealth.At the same time, UK Trade and Investment (UKTI) is helping strengthen trade links with markets across the world that are key to the UK's future prosperity and is now represented in over 20 Commonwealth countries. These include high growth markets such as India, Singapore, South Africa and Malaysia, and others such as Canada, Australia and New Zealand, where we already have significant and well established trading relations. We are also working hard to ensure the EU signs ambitious Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) with Commonwealth countries to improve the access of UK companies to these markets. For example, negotiations on an EU/Canada Comprehensive and Economic Trade Agreement were completed in September and will benefit the UK economy and businesses by over £1.3billion a year. On 16 October the EU also finalised a FTA with Singapore, while talks with India are ongoing.At this year’s Commonwealth Games in Glasgow UKTI, the Scottish Government, Scottish Enterprise and the Commonwealth Business Council worked together to deliver a business conference for 200 Commonwealth business leaders. UKTI also organised a British Business House, which showcased UK plc to Commonwealth businesses.

Gibraltar

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what the policy of the European Commission is on border incursions into Gibraltarian water.

Mr David Lidington: Whilst the European Commission is best placed to answer questions on its policies, the European Commission has no locus in relation to the UK’s sovereignty over British Gibraltar Territorial Waters.

Islamic State

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what estimate he has made of the number of UK nationals being held by Islamic State.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: It is a long-standing British Government policy not to comment on kidnap cases.

Syria

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his US counterpart on Islamic State militants in Syria.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) met with the US Secretary of State John Kerry and US National Security Advisor Susan Rice in Washington last week to discuss our combined efforts to tackle ISIL.The Foreign Secretary expressed his gratitude to John Kerry for coordinating the anti-ISIL coalition. We keep in regular contact with the US and other international coalition partners to discuss the comprehensive strategy for degrading and defeating ISIL, and will continue to do so.

Middle East

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assistance he is providing to UK nationals in (a) Syria and (b) Iraq to ensure their safety against kidnapping.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office Travel Advice advises against all travel to Syria and those areas in Iraq where it is assessed that the risk of kidnap is high. We continually monitor these assessments to ensure that our advice provides the most up to date information for British nationals.

Russia

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the effect on Russia of EU-led sanctions.

Mr David Lidington: Sanctions imposed on Russia by the EU in respect of Russia’s actions in Ukraine are designed to impose a cost on Russia, deter further escalation of this crisis, and support the wider diplomatic effort to reach a sustainable solution. EU sanctions already announced have exacerbated negative trends in Russia’s economy: capital flight in the first half of 2014 was greater than for the whole of 2013; and growth predictions have been revised downwards. Russian access to western financial markets is being severely constrained as lenders consider the risks of Russian exposure in the current climate. The strengthening of sanctions is signalling clearly to the Russian leadership that its policy of trying to destabilise Ukraine will continue to have serious consequences.

Boko Haram: Islamic State

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of links between Boko Haram and Islamic State.

Mr David Lidington: Boko Haram and ISIL have made reference to one another in their propaganda but there has been no evidence of strategic links between the groups. However, ISIL are seeking to influence other groups beyond the Middle East through their actions and propaganda.

Syria

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the stability of the al-Assad government in Syria.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: Through his brutal repression of the Syrian people and his fuelling of extremism, Assad has lost control of vast areas of his own country. There are reports that Allawite communities in Syria are increasingly disillusioned with Assad. His regime has shown itself incapable of the kind of inclusive and representative government that is necessary to lead a national campaign against ISIL and provide stability in Syria. While the international coalition and moderate opposition forces have been tackling ISIL, Assad has been continuing his attacks and aerial bombardments on the civilian population including around Aleppo and Damascus. The UK is determined to keep pressing for an inclusive and mutually agreed political settlement in Syria, and to keep increasing the pressure on Assad to help bring this about.

Syria

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, which Syrian rebel groups have been identified as not being associated with Islamic fundamentalist beliefs.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: There is a wide range of armed groups operating in Syria with a wide range of beliefs and ideologies. We estimate there are tens of thousands of individuals fighting for the moderate opposition. We must not accept what Assad wants us to believe – that the only alternative to him is extremism and terrorists. The vast majority of Syrians want neither the tyrant nor the terrorists; they want a peaceful future, free from dictatorship. This is the vision held by the moderate opposition groups we and our partners support.

Afghanistan

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his counterpart in Afghanistan on the threat posed by the Taliban in that country.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: My new counterpart has yet to be appointed since the conclusion of the recent election period in Afghanistan. The Prime Minister's, my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron) recent visit to Kabul saw him meet with President Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai and Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah and included discussions on security. We continue to call for the Taleban to enter a peaceful political process with the Afghan Government, as political settlement offers the prospect of a more sustainable peace in Afghanistan.

Hong Kong

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with the (a) Chinese government and (b) Hong Kong government on democracy and freedom of expression; and what the outcome of those discussions was.

Mr Hugo Swire: Most recently, on 14 October, I met Hong Kong’s Secretary of Justice, to discuss the situation in Hong Kong. On 6 October, the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) discussed these issues with the Chinese Ambassador. The Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron) and the Foreign Secretary, also discussed Hong Kong in recent meetings with Chinese Vice Premier Ma Kai.Foreign and Commonwealth Office officials have regular contacts on this issue with representatives from the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) Government and Chinese Central People’s Government. During these discussions, the Government has consistently expressed the view that Hong Kong’s future is best served by a transition to universal suffrage, in line with the Basic Law, which meets the aspirations of the people of Hong Kong and offers them a genuine choice. Both the Chinese Central People’s Government and the Hong Kong SAR Government have made clear that their objective remains to achieve universal suffrage in Hong Kong.

Religious Freedom

Mr Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he or officials of his Department have had with Rabbi David Saperstein in his capacity as US Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom.

Mr Hugo Swire: Rabbi David Saperstein has yet to be confirmed in his appointment by the US Senate as US Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom. As such we have had no official meetings with him, although FCO staff have met him previously as a representative of the Reform Jewish Movement to Congress and the US Administration, and as the Director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism (RAC).

Iraq

Mr Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what reports he has received of access by ISIS to chemical weapons in Iraq; and what assistance his Department plans to give directly and through the international community to assist the government of Iraq in (a) safeguarding its citizens, (b) retrieving those materials and (c) preventing the use of those materials in the region.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: We are aware of reports of the use of industrial chemicals as weapons by ISIL in Iraq, and encourage the Government of Iraq to bring to the attention of the OPCW any such incidents. We welcome its report to the OPCW Executive Council in October regarding the use of chlorine by terrorist groups.We are also aware that the Al Muthanna military site is now in the control of ISIL. We continue to monitor the situation. However, we do not believe that the site contains chemical weapons-related materials of military value. Bunkers at the Al Muthanna site did contain hazardous chemical weapons-related materials used in Iraq’s Chemical Weapons programme. The materials were made safe by the United Nations Special Commission (UNSCOM) between 1992-1994.While the Government of Iraq has kept the international community informed of incidents, and has reiterated its commitment to all international treaties and conventions aimed at preventing the use or spread of chemical weapons, it has made no requests for assistance to the international community.We condemn unreservedly all and any use of chemical weapons by anyone. Use is a breach of international norms. Any party using any toxic chemical in this way should be brought to justice.

China

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, when (a) each Minister and (b) officials in his Department last met the Ambassador of China to the UK.

Mr Hugo Swire: The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) and I last met the Chinese Ambassador to the United Kingdom on 6 October 2014. The Minister of State, my noble Friend the right hon. Baroness Anelay last met the Ambassador on 23 September 2014. The Permanent Under-Secretary for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office last met the Ambassador on 6 January 2014. The Director-General Economic and Consular last met the Ambassador on 29 August 2014. The Director of Asia-Pacific last met the Ambassador on 6 October 2014. The Head of China Department last met the Ambassador on 9 October 2014.

Morocco

Mr Mark Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will (a) raise with the Moroccan ambassador to the UK and (b) instruct the HM Ambassador in Rabat to investigate the death of Hasena Luali on 28 September 2014.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: We were saddened to hear of the death of Hassan El Wali in a military hospital in Dakhla. According to the Moroccan Ministry of Justice, this was a result of undiagnosed diabetes complicated by Mr El Wali’s recent hunger strike. The British Ambassador discussed the matter with the president of the National Human Rights Council (CNDH) on 10 October. Mr El-Yazami told us that he had called for an immediate investigation. A CNDH medical examiner had been sent to Dakhla, who had confirmed the official version of events.It is clearly important that Morocco ensures prisoners have access to appropriate medical care, a point we will be stressing in our future dialogue with the Moroccan government on human rights. The Ambassador also discussed human rights more generally with the Moroccan Foreign Minister on 11 October.

Hong Kong

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he has taken to facilitate constructive dialogue between the Chinese government, the authorities in Hong Kong and campaigners in Hong Kong.

Mr Hugo Swire: The Government has maintained regular contact on the current situation in Hong Kong with all parties, including to representatives of both the Hong Kong Special Administrative Regional Government and the Chinese Central People’s Government. The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) has met the Chinese Ambassador and I have met the Hong Kong Government’s Secretary of Justice. We have set out our concerns about events in Hong Kong. We have made clear our view that Hong Kong’s future is best served by a transition to universal suffrage, in line with the Basic Law, which meets the aspirations of the people of Hong Kong, and which offers them a genuine choice in the election of the Chief Executive.We continue to call on all sides to ensure that the demonstrations remain peaceful. We also encourage all parties to engage in dialogue and to work towards a consensus that allows a significant step forward for democracy. I look forward in due course to the resumption by the Hong Kong Government of the official consultation on plans to implement universal suffrage in 2017.

South Sudan

Nicola Blackwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that (a) there is no impunity for perpetrators of rape and abuse and (b) women are represented in peace talks in South Sudan.

Mr Hugo Swire: We are deeply concerned by the number of cases of sexual violence during the current conflict in South Sudan. The UK invited South Sudan to the Summit to End Sexual Violence in Conflict in London in June, and successfully lobbied for it to sign the Declaration of Commitment to End Sexual Violence in Conflict. We welcome that the joint communiqué by President Kiir and Special Representative of the UN Secretary General Zainab Bangura on 11 October explicitly recognised the need to address impunity for sexual violence crimes, and we will work to support and monitor implementation of this commitment. Accountability for human rights violations, including sexual and gender based violence, will be an important component of any peace deal in South Sudan, and the UK has offered strong and sustained support to the AU Commission of Inquiry and other organisations seeking to monitor human rights abuses during the conflict. We also continue to underline both in public and in private the need for the regionally mediated South Sudan peace talks to be inclusive and representative of all the people of South Sudan, especially women. For example, the UK’s statement in a discussion on South Sudan at the UN Human Rights Council on September 24th emphasized the importance of the participation of women in the peace process, in line with UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on women, peace and security.

Nigeria

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps his Department continues to take to support efforts to locate and secure the release of kidnapped schoolgirls in Nigeria; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Hugo Swire: The Government has played a leading role in the international response to the abduction of the Chibok schoolgirls in northern Nigeria. My Rt Hon Friend, the Member for Witney (David Cameron MP), the Prime Minister has condemned this appalling act and we have increased our support in a number of ways to help Nigeria locate the girls and tackle the threat posed by Boko Haram. In response to the Chibok abductions, My Rt Hon Friend, the Member for Witney (David Cameron MP), the Prime Minister announced on 14 May that the UK would provide surveillance assets and intelligence expertise to help in the search for the missing girls. The UK and its partners continue to work closely with Nigeria using our joint capability in the search for the Chibok girls. On 3 September, My Hon Friend, the Member for Rochford and Southend East (James Duddridge MP), the Minister for Africa led the UK delegation at a ministerial meeting in Abuja on security in Nigeria. At this meeting he emphasised the importance of regional coordination between Nigeria and its neighbours to defeating Boko Haram and locating the girls.

Attorney General

GPT Special Project Management

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Attorney General, when (a) he and (b) officials in his Department have met representatives of (i) Foreign and Commonwealth Office officials and (ii) the Ministry of Defence to discuss the SFO's investigation into GPT Special Project Management Ltd.

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Attorney General, how many times he has met with the Director of the SFO to discuss the investigation into GPT Special Project Management Ltd in the last six months.

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Attorney General, under what article of the Protocol between the Attorney General and the Prosecuting Departments he has held discussions with the Director of the SFO about that body's investigation into GPT Special Project Management Ltd.

Mr Robert Buckland: The Law Officers and representatives of the Attorney General’s Office have regular meetings with the Director of the Serious Fraud Office and also meet officials in other Government departments on occasion to discuss a variety of issues. As was the case with previous Administrations, it is not the Government’s policy to provide details of all such meetings.

Harassment

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Attorney General, on how many occasions the CPS has prosecuted cases of racially or religiously aggravated harassment in each of the last seven years.

Mr Robert Buckland: The records held by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) indicate the number of offences charged, in which a prosecution commenced at magistrates’ court under Section 32 of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 (racially or religiously aggravated harassment), rather than identifying the number of defendants prosecuted. It is often the case that an individual defendant is charged with more than one offence against the same victim. The table below shows, in each of the last seven years, the number of offences, charged by way of Section 32 of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 (racially or religiously aggravated harassment), and which reached a first hearing at magistrates’ courts, in England and Wales.Crime and Disorder Act 1998 { 32 }2007-20085562008-20095272009-20104942010-20115362011-20123792012-20133172013-2014335 Data Source: CPS Management Information System   There is no indication of the number of individual defendants prosecuted for these offences or the final outcome of the prosecution proceeding or if the charged offence was the substantive charge at the time of finalisation.   The last five years have seen a year on year reduction in the overall number of cases referred to the CPS from the police, however the CPS do not hold data related to the number of police referrals of cases in which charges of racially or religiously aggravated harassment would be appropriate.

Newspaper Press: Telephone Tapping

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Attorney General, whether costs from the convicted defendants in the phone-hacking trial that concluded on 25 June 2014 have been recovered.

Mr Robert Buckland: The Crown Prosecution Service applied for costs totalling £1.1m against all those convicted of phone hacking, save for Dan Evans who had pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity. The trial judge ordered costs against James Weatherup in the sum of £5000 and the costs application against Andrew Coulson has been adjourned to await further information relating to his means.Responsibility for enforcing Crown Court costs orders falls to HM Courts and Tribunal Service and the costs go to central funds. The Crown Prosecution Service does not monitor whether these are recovered.

Freezing Orders

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Attorney General, how many asset freezing orders the CPS applied for in each of the last eight years; and how many such applications were successful.

Mr Robert Buckland: The CPS holds records of the number of asset freezing orders which it has obtained, but not the number of orders which it applied for during the last 8 years. On 30 June 2014, as part of work to tackle organised crime, the Director of Public Prosecutions launched a new service within the CPS which will work exclusively on recovering assets from criminals convicted in England and Wales. CPS Proceeds of Crime (CPSPOC) is responsible for all CPS restraint activity. CPSPOC will compile information as to how many asset freezing orders are applied for and how many are granted. This information will be available in future financial years.   The table below sets out the total number of asset freezing orders obtained by the CPS in each of the last eight financial years. There has been a drop in the number of asset freezing orders obtained by the CPS since 2010-11. This is partly due to a fall in the type of investigations that lead to restraint orders being required and partly due to the decision in Windsor v CPS [2011] EWCA Crim 143, which tightened the evidential requirements needed with ex parte applications for restraint orders at the investigation stage.   Financial YearNumber of asset freezing orders obtained 2006-078552007-0813522008-0915672009-1014712010-1117302011-1214012012-1312962013-141246April 2014-Sep 2014553

Crown Prosecution Service

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Attorney General, how many and what proportion of local authorities in England and Wales have adopted the new information-sharing protocol between the Crown Prosecution Service, police and councils.

Jeremy Wright: Implementation of the measures in the national protocol is secured through agreement of local arrangements. The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) maintains no central records of the number of local authorities that have adopted the national 2013 Protocol. However, in a recent survey of Chief Crown Prosecutors, the CPS found that, following the publication of the national multi-agency 2013 protocol, 82 of the 174 Local Authorities responsible for children’s services have so far signed local disclosure protocols.

Unfair Practices

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Attorney General, whether the police have contacted the Crown Prosecution Service in regards to whether the practice of payday lenders or others issuing legal demands through letters from fake solicitors constitutes a criminal offence.

Mr Robert Buckland: The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) is aware that City of London Police, the national police lead in substantial fraud investigations, is currently considering the widely-reported case involving Wonga. To date the CPS have not been asked by the police as to whether the practice of issuing letters from fake solicitors constitutes a criminal offence.   Any referral to the CPS will be made to the CPS Specialist Fraud Division, who would provide wider advice about whether such practices constitute a criminal offence if that was requested by the police.

Rape

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Attorney General, how many and what proportion of Crown Prosecution Service rape-flagged convictions were for (a) a rape charge, (b) another sexual offence, (c) an offence against the person and (d) a non-violent offence in each of the last five years.

Mr Robert Buckland: The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) maintains records of the number of defendants prosecuted and convicted, where the rape monitoring flag has been applied to the case.   A rape flag is applied at the onset of a case, and remains in place even if the charges are subsequently amended or dropped. It follows that there may be cases where a person was proceeded against for rape but convicted of another offence.   The CPS also records prosecution outcomes according to Principal Offence Categories.   The CPS does not record outcome by individual charge and is therefore unable to provide data in respect of (a) as this would require the review of individual case files and incur disproportionate cost. Likewise, it is not possible to distinguish between convictions for rape and for other sexual offences and therefore it is not possible to provide data in respect of (b).   (c) The way in which the CPS recording system operates means only one principal offence category is assigned to each case, and these are assigned in hierarchical order.   We can provide data on those cases flagged as rape and finalised in the ‘offences against the person’ principal offence category, however it is important to note that in such cases, a conviction for the rape charge may have also been secured.   During each of the last five years the number and proportion of defendants convicted, for cases flagged as rape and where the Principal Offence Category was identified as ‘Offences against the Person’ is as follows:  Offences Against The Person Flagged as Rape2009-20102179.7%2010-20111897.8%2011-20121687.0%2012-20131978.6%2013-20141757.6% Data Source: CPS Management Information System   (d) Each Principal Offence Category includes a broad range of offences; some involving violence and some non-violent. In order to establish the number of rape flagged defendants convicted of a non-violent offence would require the review of individual case files which would incur disproportionate cost.

Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

Higher Education: Admissions

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what proportion of pupils from each ethnic group were admitted to (a) the University of Oxford, (b) the University of Cambridge and (c) other Russell Group universities in the last six years for which figures are available.

Greg Clark: Recent data for years since the tuition fee reforms and access agreements is not yet available, but the latest data from the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) shows that entry rates to higher education for all ethnic groups in 2013 had increased and overall, there was a much higher representation of black and minority ethnic groups in university than in the overall population of England.   The table below shows the figures before these changes.  Estimated percentage of maintained school pupils aged 15 in each ethnic group who progressed to Oxford, Cambridge or Russell Group institutions by age 19  Progression by age 19 in 2008/092009/102010/112011/12Asian/Asian BritishOxford0.2%0.2%0.2%0.2%Cambridge0.3%0.3%0.3%0.3%Russell Group11.4%11.5%10.6%10.7%Black/Black BritishOxford0.1%0.1%0.1%0.1%Cambridge0.1%0.1%0.1%0.1%Russell Group4.6%4.2%4.4%4.1%Mixed/Multiple ethnic groupsOxford0.3%0.4%0.3%0.3%Cambridge0.2%0.4%0.3%0.3%Russell Group8.5%8.4%7.8%7.5%WhiteOxford0.2%0.2%0.2%0.2%Cambridge0.2%0.2%0.2%0.2%Russell Group7.2%7.1%6.9%7.5%Other Ethnic GroupOxford0.2%0.2%0.2%0.2%Cambridge0.3%0.4%0.3%0.2%Russell Group10.8%10.1%9.6%7.0%All Ethnic GroupsOxford0.2%0.2%0.2%0.2%Cambridge0.2%0.2%0.2%0.2%Russell Group7.4%7.3%7.1%7.2% Source: Matched data from the DfE National Pupil Database, the HESA Student Record and the SFA ILR   Figures are not available for earlier age cohorts.

Torbay

Mr Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many visits were made by Ministers of his Department to Torbay constituency in the 12 months to 14 October 2014; whom the invitation for each such visit was issued by; and what the cost to the public purse was of each such visit.

Jo Swinson: No official visits have been made to the Torbay constituency by the Department’s Ministers during the period 14 October 2013 to 14 October 2014.

Ferries: Minimum Wage

Mr Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will make it his policy that the National Minimum Wage should apply to seafarers working on ferry services from (a) Portsmouth to the Channel Islands, (b) Weymouth to the Channel Islands, (c) Poole to the Channel Islands and (d) Portsmouth to Cherbourg.

Jo Swinson: The Government is examining the application of the legislation to seafarers, in particular those seafarers working on ferry services.   Officials have been working closely with the Department for Transport, unions and stakeholders to fully understand pay practices in the maritime industry.   Seafarers who ordinarily work in the UK are entitled to the National Minimum Wages (NMW). Seafarers who believe they are entitled to the NMW and have not received it should contact the free and confidential Pay and Work Rights helpline on 0800 917 2368.   The Equality Act 2010 (Work on Ships and Hovercraft) Regulations 2011 extend certain equality rights, including pay, to all seafarers serving on UK or EEA registered vessels operating wholly or partly in Great Britain and its territorial waters. Seafarers from the EEA or designated States, whose legal relationship in regard to their employment is located within Great Britain, are also covered to the same extent. Outside our territorial waters the same level of protection is afforded to the same category of seafarers on UK registered vessels.   The Department for Transport is currently reviewing the application of the Equality Act Regulations with the social partners, this Department and other Departments.   However, the UK must give due consideration to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea that states that a vessel is entitled to the right of innocent passage when in the territorial waters of another State. The majority of ferries operating out of Great Britain are not flagged with the UK register and the Channel Islands and Cherbourg are beyond our territorial waters.

Phones 4u

Mr Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of the progress being made to offset job losses and the cost to the economy resulting from the collapse of mobile telephone retailer Phones 4U.

Jo Swinson: The administration of Phones4U was disappointing news and is obviously a worrying time for the workforce, but this continues to be a matter for the Administrators, PWC.   The Government, through its Rapid Response Service has supported the Taskforce established by local partners in Newcastle under Lyme and Stoke in September The Taskforce has been able to offer direct and indirect support through an Employee Support Event on 7 October which is part of a larger support programme for those looking for work.   I was pleased to see media reports that more than 2,000 staff working in 198 stores and 160 concessions have been transferred to buyers of parts of the business including Vodafone and EE.

Business: Equality

Mr Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will take steps to ensure that a conscience clause is included within equality legislation affecting UK businesses.

Jo Swinson: The Government is committed to ensuring that people are protected against discrimination because of religion or belief, and that they are able to exercise the right to hold and manifest their beliefs in a reasonable manner. We believe that the Equality Act 2010 strikes the right balance between the rights of people to manifest their religion or beliefs and the rights of others not to be discriminated against or harassed due to other protected characteristics, such as gender or sexual orientation, in areas such as employment and the provision of goods and services.

Publishing: Competition

Mr Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what representations his Department has received on large publishing firms coercing smaller publishing houses to sign contracts with anti-competitive clauses.

Jo Swinson: The Department has received correspondence from members of the public and publishing firms raising competition concerns about the application of certain types of contract in the publishing sector generally, for example most favoured nation or price-parity clauses. However, there has not been a concerted campaign asking for action.   The Government has given the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) strong powers to tackle anti-competitive behaviour. I would encourage anyone that is aware of large publishing firms engaging in such anti-competitive practices to provide that evidence to the CMA.

Department for International Development

Overseas Aid

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what progress her Department has made in implementing the recommendations of the Independent Commission for Aid Impact report.

Mr Desmond Swayne: DFID publishes Annual Updates on actions it has taken to address Independent Commission for Aid Impact (ICAI) recommendations on the Government website. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/autumn-2013-progress-updates-on-implementing-icai-recommendations.   ICAI itself follows up on DFID progress against its recommendations and publishes details in its Annual Reports http://icai.independent.gov.uk/2014/06/13/icai-annual-report-2013-14/. A further update on progress against ICAI’s recent recommendations will be published in December 2014 in preparation for additional follow up work by ICAI.

Syria

Mr Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what humanitarian aid has been allocated to meet the needs of Syrian refugees on the Turkish border.

Mr Desmond Swayne: Since the start of the Syria crisis, DFID has allocated £24,2 million to support Syrian refugees in Turkey. DFID has also responded to the urgent needs of the newly arrived Syrian refugees fleeing ISIL advances on Kobane, working with the relevant authorities and our partners to provide mattresses, non-food items and shelter for the most needy families. We stand ready to respond positively should further aid be needed.

Torbay

Mr Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how many visits were made by Ministers of her Department to Torbay constituency in the 12 months to 14 October 2014; whom the invitation for each such visit was issued by; and what the cost to the public purse was of each such visit.

Mr Desmond Swayne: There were no DFID visits to Torbay by ministers in the last 12 months.

Japan

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what the policy of the Government is on providing financial aid to Japan following Typhoon Vongfong.

Mr Desmond Swayne: Japan has not requested international assistance and has strong national capacity for dealing with disasters. When deciding whether to respond to a humanitarian emergency DFID takes into account a number of factors such as the severity and scale of impact of the event, the vulnerability of the affected population, the capacity of the affected government to respond and whether the affected national government has requested assistance.

ICT

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, for what reasons priorities on a digital approach have not been included in her Department's latest individual performance objectives for 2014-15.

Mr Desmond Swayne: DFID has published several documents that illustrate the importance placed on how digital can support our activities. First, our position is clearly outlined in our digital strategy (published here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/department-for-international-development-digital-strategy-2012-to-2015). It confirms digital is an enabler that will help us achieve the departments overarching priorities. The annual update published January 2014 set out our plans for this year, and we are currently working on an update which will cover progress this year and plans for 2015. Secondly we refer to our digital priorities in the Departmental Improvement Plan (published here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dfid-departmental-improvement-plan--2) as an integral part of the Departmental approach to continuous improvement and development. Finally, (and this is referenced in the Permanent Secretary’s individual performance objectives as published here: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/329087/Mark_Lowcock_objectives_2014-15.pdf ) he is clear that improving digital capability is one of the Civil Service Reform priority areas.

Overseas Aid

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what criteria her Department uses to determine whether a country should receive aid from the UK; and if she will make a statement.

Mr Desmond Swayne: The ultimate task of UK aid is to support a country in establishing its own mechanisms for a timely, self-financed and secure exit from poverty. Accordingly, countries are eligible for direct bilateral aid if extreme poverty currently affects a significant proportion of the population and is projected to persist over the medium term, the country is unable to finance the reduction of poverty through domestic taxation, and the country meets basic requirements of legitimacy for a bilateral aid programme to operate.

Argentina

Henry Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, if she will make it her policy to continue to oppose loans to Argentina from international institutions including the World Bank and IDB.

Mr Desmond Swayne: Last year, the Secretary of State instructed the UK’s representatives at the Inter-American Development Bank and World Bank to vote against all new proposals for financial support to the Government of the Republic of Argentina presented by these institutions, while reserving the right to support proposals that can demonstrate exceptional benefits to the poorest people of Argentina. Our position on this has not changed. These are the only Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs), in which the UK is a shareholder and from which the Government of Argentina borrows.

Nepal

Mr Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what recent humanitarian assistance the UK has provided to communities affected by the monsoon floods in Western Nepal.

Mr Desmond Swayne: Torrential rains in Nepal between 13 and 15 August 2014 caused flash floods and landslides in various parts of the country, resulting in hundreds of deaths and injuries and the destruction of around 7,500 homes. The UK has been working closely with the Nepal government and other donors to meet the humanitarian needs of affected communities and to assist with recovery and reconstruction. £100,000 of UK support has ensured that 13,000 people in the worst hit areas have received essential support, including cash, relief items and emergency services. We have recently approved an additional £500,000 to repair homes and infrastructure and provide short term employment to around 2,000 families. The UK is also the largest contributor (providing over 20% of core funding) to the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs; $1.3m of CERF funds are being used in Nepal to provide food assistance to 130,000 people affected by the floods.   In the immediate aftermath of the floods, the Red Cross in Nepal was able to distribute essential support such as tarpaulins, kitchen kits and clothes to more than 6,000 families. £190,000 of UK support will enable the replenishment of 5,000 of these family kits, with the remainder being funded by other donors. Over the longer term, we are keen to ensure that Nepal is better able to mitigate the worst effects of natural disasters such as these. Through a £23m, four year programme, we are providing extensive support to the Government and to local communities to help build their capacity to reduce the risk of natural disasters, including floods, landslides and earthquake.

Department for Education

Academies

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many academies have articles of association which require the Academy Trust to consider any advice given by the principal of a school in the Academy Trust before resolving to take action; and in how many academy trusts the consideration of such advice is discretionary.

Mr Edward Timpson: The model articles of association for academy trusts set out the expectations of how academy trusts should be governed, including those arising from company and charity law. The model articles do not include any specific requirement on the trust board to consider advice given by the principal but we would expect them to do so. We would expect there to be an effective working relationship between trustees and the principal, who will often serve as a trustee.

Academies

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what her policy is on the appointment of a director who does not play an active role, otherwise known as a sleeping partner, to be a director of an academy trust.

Mr Edward Timpson: We expect all those who serve on academy trust boards to play a full and active role in supporting and driving high standards in schools.

Academies

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many complaints she has received that an academy trust is not complying with its articles of association (a) following an Ofsted inspection, (b) following an inspection by the Education Funding Agency and (c) from any other source.

Mr Edward Timpson: The Department for Education does not categorise and record centrally complaints volumes about academy trusts’ compliance with their articles of association. Any complaint received about non-compliance by an academy trust is assessed and, where the evidence warrants it, investigated in line with the Department’s published complaints procedure. This is published online at:www.gov.uk/complain-about-school

Academies

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many academy trusts have boards of directors with no more than three members.

Mr Edward Timpson: Trust boards have flexibility to operate the size of board they feel is right for their academy trust. The Department for Education does not collect statistics related to the size of individual academy boards but the model articles state that there shall be no fewer than three directors.

Schools: Nuneaton

Mr Marcus Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many additional physical education teachers and sports specialists have been recruited by schools in Nuneaton constituency in the last 18 months.

Mr Edward Timpson: The information is not available in the requested format.

Special Educational Needs

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what progress her Department is making on improving public accountability of services for children with special educational needs through published performance data.

Mr Edward Timpson: The Department for Education publishes a range of performance and attainment data from:Local authoritiesEarly years settingsSchools and colleges on children and young people with special educational needs and disabilityLocal and national levelsLocal authorities and their partners across education, health and social care are implementing the special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) reforms which came into force on 1 September this year. The Department is working closely with local authorities and local Parent Carer Forums to understand how local implementation of the Children and Families Act is progressing. Summary findings of an autumn implementation survey will be published before the end of the year. The Department will also publish local authority data on an annual basis, starting in summer 2015. This will include, for example, the number of conversions from statements to Education, Health and Care (EHC) Plans and the number and percentage of new EHC Plans delivered within twenty weeks.From September 2015, we expect local authorities will have made significant progress in embedding the reforms, and our focus will increasingly be on whether the new systems are leading to improved outcomes for children and young people.We have asked Ofsted to consider what more needs to be done to ensure good quality delivery of the new system. Ofsted’s recommendations will be published shortly.

Missing Persons: Children

Dr Julian Huppert: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to provide help to missing children.

Mr Edward Timpson: In January 2014 the Department for Education published revised statutory guidance on children missing from home or care.[1] This sets out the steps that local authorities and their partners should take to prevent children going missing and to protect them when they do. The guidance is clear that within seventy hours of a missing child being found, the council should offer them an independent return interview to uncover information that will help protect children from:The risk of going missing again.The risks they may have been exposed to while missing.The risk factors in their home.[1] www.gov.uk/government/publications/children-who-run-away-or-go-missing-from-home-or-care

Pupils: Disadvantaged

Sir Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate her Department has made of how many infant pupils (a) are eligible to receive pupil premium and (b) have been registered to receive pupil premium in the school year 2014-15.

Mr David Laws: Pupil premium funding is allocated to state-funded schools for each financial year rather than by school year, primarily on the basis of the number of pupils recorded in the January school census as having been registered for free school meals (FSM) at any point in the last 6 years. A smaller proportion of pupils attract the pupil premium on the basis of being looked after, or having left care through adoption or under a Special Guardianship, Residence or Child Arrangements Order.The Department for Education has published illustrative pupil premium funding allocations for the financial year 2014-15, based on census data from 2013. Final allocations for 2014-15 will be published later in the year, based on pupil data gathered through the January 2014 school census and the spring 2014 children looked after data return (and also the October 2014 school census, for adopted and other previously looked after pupils who were not recorded as such in the January 2014 school census).From the data on which the published illustrative allocations for 2014-15 are based, the Department estimates that 430,350 pupils in reception, year 1 and year 2 will attract pupil premium funding on the basis of having been registered for FSM at any point in the last 6 years.Pupil premium illustrative allocations for the financial year 2015-16 will be based on pupil data gathered through the forthcoming January 2015 school census and the spring 2015 children looked after data return. Final allocations for 2015-16 will be published towards the end of 2015. To ensure we have the best estimates, we are working with primary schools and local authorities so that registration rates for benefits-related FSM are maintained for pupils in reception, year 1 and year 2 classes.

Education: Standards

Mr Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she plans to take to ensure greater consistency in educational outcomes (a) from each stage of provision and (b) across all regions.

Mr David Laws: This Government has introduced an ambitious, coherent programme of reforms to ensure greater consistency in educational outcomes across all stages and regions in England.We are reforming assessment and the curriculum across the primary and secondary phases and general and vocational qualifications to ensure we have a system that prepares young people for life in modern Britain. We are reforming GCSEs and A levels to be robust and rigorous, to match the best education systems in the world and to keep pace with universities’ and employers’ demands. The new national curriculum, introduced from this school year, also sets out expectations for children at all four key stages that match the curricula used in the world’s most successful school systems.We are improving the accountability framework to improve standards across the country. In addition, Ofsted has implemented a more rigorous inspection framework, with performance data being used to target inspections on the weakest schools and a recognition that any school rated less than ‘good' is not performing well enough.Some schools are still not performing well enough. We issued revised statutory guidance[1] to local authorities in May that makes very clear our expectations that they should take swift and robust action when maintained schools are performing poorly. This includes our expectation that their assessment should include the achievement of disadvantaged pupils and that poorly performing schools should become sponsored academies.In addition, the academies and free schools programmes are shifting power and responsibility to leaders of education, giving schools greater autonomy to drive improvements, within a strong framework of accountability. The growth in sponsored academies is raising standards by turning around some of the most disadvantaged and worst performing schools in the country. Increasingly, high performing schools are taking the lead as sponsors, sharing their expertise and experience to benefit others.Regional Schools Commissioners (RSCs) are responsible for overseeing the performance of academies, free schools, university technical colleges and studio schools in their region. RSCs, along with their headteacher boards, are helping to build the capacity of the Department for Education to pick up local and regional soft intelligence which will contribute to the ability of the Department to oversee academies and free schools and hold them to account. The RSCs will be able to take decisions on academy issues whilst being immersed in the local context. This will enable them to make decisions based on the circumstances of the school(s) and sponsor(s) in question.All of these reforms will also help raise the attainment of disadvantaged pupils and close the gap with their peers at every phase and in every region in England. In particular, the Government introduced the pupil premium in April 2011 – worth a total of £6.25 billion to date – to give schools the resources to raise the attainment of mainly economically disadvantaged pupils and those in care.[1] www.gov.uk/government/publications/schools-causing-concern--2

Local Safeguarding Children Boards

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 13 October 2014 to Question 209053, which seven local safeguarding children's boards inspected since November 2013 have been found to be inadequate by Ofsted.

Mr Edward Timpson: The seven Local Safeguarding Children Boards inspected since November 2013 which have been found to be inadequate by Ofsted are Slough, Coventry, Bexley, Birmingham, Knowsley, Buckinghamshire and Manchester.

Local Government: Staff

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many local authority designated officers work in each local authority.

Mr Edward Timpson: The Government’s statutory guidance, ‘Working Together to Safeguard Children’, last revised in 2013, is clear that every county level and unitary local authority should have a Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO).The Department for Education does not hold or collect information relating to numbers of LADOs.

Priority School Building Programme

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether factors additional to geography, commercial viability and condition need are assessed by her Department when selecting schools in the Priority School Building Programme.

Mr David Laws: On 24 May 2011, the then Secretary of State confirmed that 261 schools would be rebuilt, or have their condition needs met through the Priority School Building Programme (PSBP). These schools were selected on the basis of their condition need.For delivery purposes, the 261 schools have been grouped into batches taking geography and commercial viability into consideration. We have sought to prioritise the delivery of those batches containing schools in the worst condition.In June 2014, a second phase of the PSBP was launched. The schools to be included in this second phase of the PSBP will again be determined solely on the basis of their condition need.

Primary Education: Admissions

Fiona Mactaggart: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, which primary schools in each local authority area have more than 600 pupils.

Mr David Laws: Data on the number of pupils enrolled at all maintained schools, academies (including free schools, studio schools and university technical colleges) and non‑maintained special schools, is collected through the school census.Pupil numbers for individual schools are included within the underlying data of the ‘Schools, pupils and their characteristics: January 2014’[1] statistical first release.A table listing all primary schools with more than 600 pupils is attached to this answer.[1] www.gov.uk/government/statistics/schools-pupils-and-their-characteristics-january-2014 



Primary schools with more than 600 pupils
(Excel SpreadSheet, 43.37 KB)

Ministry of Justice

Temporary Employment

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much his Department has spent on agency workers to cover clerical staff in each month since January 2014.

Andrew Selous: Since April 2010 we have cut our overall spend on temporary staff by £35.5m. We only use temporary staff to fill business-critical posts and essential frontline services where they can provide a fast, flexible and efficient way to obtain necessary skills that are not currently available in-house. We will continue to examine our use of contractors and look for further reductions. In responding to each question we have utilised data provided by our contracted supplier of temporary clerical staff and contracted supplier of temporary operational staff. As the data provided has been supplied by two different third parties there is a slight difference in the way that the answer to question 3 and 4 has been presented. Temporary operational staff relate to Operational Support Grades (OSGs) used within HM Prison Service. We have contracts in place to provide temporary OSGs to fill in gaps in requirements, for building projects or to fill vacancies short term. Temporary OSGs are a very small proportion of our staff complement. Uniform operational support staff are Operational Support Grades (OSGs).These are uniformed staff who undertake a wide range of duties in prisons, for example operating prison gates, working in security and managing stores areas. They also escort contractors and their vehicles. 1) The following amounts (exclusive of VAT) have been spent on clerical agency staff across - January 2014 - £2,983,633.14 (5 week period)February 2014 - £2,613,023.10 (4 week period)March 2014 - £2,591,678.87 (4 week period)April 2014 - £2,900,742.70 (5 week period)May 2014 - £2,398,053.57 (4 week period)June 2014 - £658,700.28 (1 week period) 2) The following amounts (exclusive of VAT) have been spent on uniform operational support staff – January 2014 - £1,082,247 (5 week period)February 2014 - £1,420,329 (4 week period)March 2014 - £1,137,834 (4 week period)April 2014 - £1,249,908 (4 week period)May 2014 - £2,282,468 (5 week period) The spend for May 2014 also includes the backdated annual pay rise for eligible workers from 1st April 2014. 3) The following number of clerical agency staff have been utilised – January 2014 - 1571 (Average headcount)February 2014 - 1634 (Average headcount)March 2014 - 1624 (Average headcount)April 2014 - 1578 (Average headcount)May 2014 - 1644 (Average headcount)June 2014 - 1674 (Average headcount) 4) The following number of uniform operational support staff have been utilised – January 2014 - 697 (Peak worker number)February 2014 - 845 (Peak worker number)March 2014 - 867 (Peak worker number)April 2014 - 853 (Peak worker number)May 2014 - 855 (Peak worker number)June 2014 - Peak worker number not available yet.

Temporary Employment

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much his Department has spent on agency workers to cover uniformed operational support staff in each month since January 2014.

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many agency workers have been employed as cover for uniform operational support staff in each month since January 2014.

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many agency workers have been employed as cover for clerical staff in each month since January 2014.

Andrew Selous: Since April 2010 we have cut our overall spend on temporary staff by £35.5m. We only use temporary staff to fill business-critical posts and essential frontline services where they can provide a fast, flexible and efficient way to obtain necessary skills that are not currently available in-house. We will continue to examine our use of contractors and look for further reductions. In responding to each question we have utilised data provided by our contracted supplier of temporary clerical staff and contracted supplier of temporary operational staff. As the data provided has been supplied by two different third parties there is a slight difference in the way that the answer to question 3 and 4 has been presented. Temporary operational staff relate to Operational Support Grades (OSGs) used within HM Prison Service. We have contracts in place to provide temporary OSGs to fill in gaps in requirements, for building projects or to fill vacancies short term. Temporary OSGs are a very small proportion of our staff complement. Uniform operational support staff are Operational Support Grades (OSGs).These are uniformed staff who undertake a wide range of duties in prisons, for example operating prison gates, working in security and managing stores areas. They also escort contractors and their vehicles. 1) The following amounts (exclusive of VAT) have been spent on clerical agency staff across - January 2014 - £2,983,633.14 (5 week period)February 2014 - £2,613,023.10 (4 week period)March 2014 - £2,591,678.87 (4 week period)April 2014 - £2,900,742.70 (5 week period)May 2014 - £2,398,053.57 (4 week period)June 2014 - £658,700.28 (1 week period) 2) The following amounts (exclusive of VAT) have been spent on uniform operational support staff – January 2014 - £1,082,247 (5 week period)February 2014 - £1,420,329 (4 week period)March 2014 - £1,137,834 (4 week period)April 2014 - £1,249,908 (4 week period)May 2014 - £2,282,468 (5 week period) The spend for May 2014 also includes the backdated annual pay rise for eligible workers from 1st April 2014. 3) The following number of clerical agency staff have been utilised – January 2014 - 1571 (Average headcount)February 2014 - 1634 (Average headcount)March 2014 - 1624 (Average headcount)April 2014 - 1578 (Average headcount)May 2014 - 1644 (Average headcount)June 2014 - 1674 (Average headcount) 4) The following number of uniform operational support staff have been utilised – January 2014 - 697 (Peak worker number)February 2014 - 845 (Peak worker number)March 2014 - 867 (Peak worker number)April 2014 - 853 (Peak worker number)May 2014 - 855 (Peak worker number)June 2014 - Peak worker number not available yet.

Prisons: Drugs

Jenny Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many incidents were recorded of illegal substances being confiscated by staff in each prison in England and Wales in each year between 2011 and 2013.

Andrew Selous: I am sorry that the response to this question was delayed by a failure in the data collection system. The National Offender Management Service (NOMS) takes the issue of all contraband in prisons extremely seriously and deploys a comprehensive range of robust searching and security measures to detect items of contraband both at the point of entry to the prison and concealed within the prison. These include targeted searching, random and targeted mandatory drug tests, the use of x-ray machines and CCTV surveillance cameras, Body Orifice Security Scanners to detect contraband secreted internally, and the imposition of closed (non-contact) visits. Prisoners found with prohibited items face swift and robust punishment. This can include having days added to their custody, being transferred to a different prison and losing privileges. The table below shows the number of individual instances where a drug was recorded as being found including in cells in prisons in England and Wales in the timeframe requested.Drug finds by establishment1, 2007-2013Establishment2007200820092010201120122013Acklington601176876000Albany0001000Altcourse11593223223178189205Ashfield9270101Ashwell10610100Askham Grange0120000Aylesbury2910209810Bedford37381815797Belmarsh14192415993Birmingham272012213860Blakenhurst1266300000Blantyre House0001011Blundeston261700000Brinsford61750102534Bristol25202932292020Brixton1127272130179Brockhill3300000Bronzefield2821192671437Buckley Hall739356447611997Bullingdon38403553372941Bullwood Hall4100020Bure0002000Camp Hill250014000Canterbury1521370Cardiff12203246422537Castington20443029000Channings Wood36283331313527Chelmsford41403126395353Coldingley55293410Cookham Wood0020000Dartmoor5201710946Deerbolt112713232325Doncaster211322127019107196Dorchester177273422359Dovegate5452335069149114Dover4647423424173Downview0021120Drake Hall134516434Durham1751891421910918917Eastwood Park10120016Edmunds Hill35231713400Elmley74714670465626Erlestoke20675514420Everthorpe32282933353149Exeter68873461627549Featherstone38272527466851Feltham4878588121910Ford901151408411710895Forest Bank348251252209128176202Foston Hall111061226Frankland201814228115Full Sutton12351230Garth33868678477176Gartree47115122Glen Parva4046402411204Gloucester304014211570Grendon1100000Guys Marsh43445432362324Haslar0001030Hatfield611002042Haverigg77826647576862Hewell1322710311411355High Down25051125Highpoint1277842343210275Hindley04210595310Hollesley Bay1927121010Holloway102394440Holme House1652029369797236Hull4542783128Huntercombe0210153Isis0000679Isle Of Wight0000122412Kennet623611111017Kingston4200000Kirkham787386127122145157Kirklevington Grange8342932354519Lancaster Castle21013000Lancaster Farms111285514Latchmere House0108100Leeds1624618197858Leicester89897393563542Lewes91927929302126Leyhill38286340313023Lincoln52573430211421Lindholme58421318324024Littlehey3232016Liverpool20251414951Long Lartin26202322Low Newton1521068483575951Lowdham Grange2101052517447671Maidstone292552131Manchester106889996818566Moorland (Closed)905221142288Morton Hall3111255054New Hall2006053North Sea Camp13278070593038Northallerton11105491411Northumberland000066143114Norwich416031191Nottingham36685334547243Oakwood0000016104Onley45312750625143Parc55429147317679Parkhurst4004000Pentonville70533845544641Peterborough64755557206184Portland20115212915Prescoed0001010Preston171211142104727270Ranby161222961315Reading0002000Risley145792771333936Rochester17971141059Rye Hill22114351224574Send0000000Shepton Mallet0010410Shrewsbury1717209120Spring Hill0000300Stafford51332920494216Standford Hill571034523926Stocken107282814618Stoke Heath2628221362016Styal45134311416Sudbury801161200167162Swaleside6166086425124Swansea241031119Swinfen Hall1204850Thameside0000018106The Mount961477757585235The Verne4613917293Thorn Cross7227210Usk1211000Wakefield1001000Wandsworth18191336725Warren Hill5763233Wayland1718101410126Wealstun277021421Wellingborough5256179950Werrington0110010Wetherby4105182347Whatton0000001Whitemoor12693212Winchester1002020The Wolds112757473384344Woodhill111340001Wormwood Scrubs78534328473158Wymott622120107102Total50474797405636273450428640701 No drugs were found at establishments not listed above  The table below refers to question 203139 and shows the number of prisoners being found in possession of drugs in England and Wales in the timeframe requested. Number of prisoners found with drugs in possession by establishment1, 2007-2013 Establishment2007200820092010201120122013 Acklington2422000 Altcourse12915100138 Ashfield1100000 Ashwell0200000 Aylesbury0010100 Bedford0302000 Belmarsh1130100 Birmingham2020048 Blakenhurst1300000 Blantyre House0001000 Blundeston0000000 Brinsford0000000 Bristol1431201 Brixton1121101 Brockhill0000000 Bronzefield1224011 Buckley Hall7521211 Bullingdon3272122 Camp Hill0001000 Cardiff0027313 Castington1000000 Channings Wood1020021 Chelmsford3310141 Coldingley0000001 Deerbolt0000111 Doncaster1830048 Dorchester1100101 Dovegate40110017 Dover28125440 Drake Hall0100000 Durham152336216105 Elmley9689752 Erlestoke0000140 Everthorpe0110012 Exeter0000044 Featherstone0100111 Feltham5940000 Ford1161312755 Forest Bank6122629052 Foston Hall0000001 Frankland0010000 Garth2521110 Gartree0010000 Glen Parva1111010 Gloucester2200000 Grendon0100000 Guys Marsh2200001 Haslar0001000 Hatfield0000002 Haverigg1231001 Hewell0012023 High Down0101100 Highpoint7300031 Hindley0421101 Hollesley Bay0000000 Holloway2111010 Holme House1018132431 Hull4000000 Isle Of Wight4733011 Kennet0000110 Kirkham0000241 Kirklevington Grange0111101 Lancaster Castle0100000 Lancaster Farms2100101 Leeds3523176 Leicester1450014 Lewes2010112 Leyhill7230121 Lincoln3111011 Lindholme1100221 Littlehey4342010 Liverpool1000110 Low Newton17115320 Lowdham Grange0100031 Maidstone1000000 Manchester3440222 Morton Hall2310011 New Hall0101000 North Sea Camp1120302 Northallerton0000010 Northumberland0000331 Norwich0000021 Nottingham1120113 Oakwood0000002 Onley0004354 Parc4342004 Pentonville5211311 Peterborough3120036 Portland2000000 Preston4794421 Ranby0120000 Risley5421100 Rye Hill0013020 Shrewsbury0200000 Stafford0001100 Standford Hill2215500 Stocken0011100 Stoke Heath0101010 Styal2112012 Sudbury13003141516 Swaleside0400010 Swansea0100000 Thameside0000002 The Mount3512001 The Verne0001100 Thorn Cross1010000 Wakefield1000000 Wandsworth2010100 Warren Hill0000000 Wayland0300000 Wealstun0100031 Wellingborough3011200 Werrington0010000 Wetherby0002110 Whitemoor3010000 Wolds0235024 Woodhill0100000 Wormwood Scrubs4330002 Wymott0120100 Total216245251165118158153  1 No drugs were found at establishments not listed aboveAll figures in this answer have been drawn from live administrative data systems which may be amended at any time. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system. The data are not subject to audit.

Prisons: Drugs

Jenny Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many inmates in each prison in England and Wales have been found in possession of illegal substances in each year between 2011 and 2013.

Andrew Selous: I am sorry that the response to this question was delayed by a failure in the data collection system. The National Offender Management Service (NOMS) takes the issue of all contraband in prisons extremely seriously and deploys a comprehensive range of robust searching and security measures to detect items of contraband both at the point of entry to the prison and concealed within the prison. These include targeted searching, random and targeted mandatory drug tests, the use of x-ray machines and CCTV surveillance cameras, Body Orifice Security Scanners to detect contraband secreted internally, and the imposition of closed (non-contact) visits. Prisoners found with prohibited items face swift and robust punishment. This can include having days added to their custody, being transferred to a different prison and losing privileges. The table below shows the number of individual instances where a drug was recorded as being found including in cells in prisons in England and Wales in the timeframe requested.Drug finds by establishment1, 2007-2013Establishment2007200820092010201120122013Acklington601176876000Albany0001000Altcourse11593223223178189205Ashfield9270101Ashwell10610100Askham Grange0120000Aylesbury2910209810Bedford37381815797Belmarsh14192415993Birmingham272012213860Blakenhurst1266300000Blantyre House0001011Blundeston261700000Brinsford61750102534Bristol25202932292020Brixton1127272130179Brockhill3300000Bronzefield2821192671437Buckley Hall739356447611997Bullingdon38403553372941Bullwood Hall4100020Bure0002000Camp Hill250014000Canterbury1521370Cardiff12203246422537Castington20443029000Channings Wood36283331313527Chelmsford41403126395353Coldingley55293410Cookham Wood0020000Dartmoor5201710946Deerbolt112713232325Doncaster211322127019107196Dorchester177273422359Dovegate5452335069149114Dover4647423424173Downview0021120Drake Hall134516434Durham1751891421910918917Eastwood Park10120016Edmunds Hill35231713400Elmley74714670465626Erlestoke20675514420Everthorpe32282933353149Exeter68873461627549Featherstone38272527466851Feltham4878588121910Ford901151408411710895Forest Bank348251252209128176202Foston Hall111061226Frankland201814228115Full Sutton12351230Garth33868678477176Gartree47115122Glen Parva4046402411204Gloucester304014211570Grendon1100000Guys Marsh43445432362324Haslar0001030Hatfield611002042Haverigg77826647576862Hewell1322710311411355High Down25051125Highpoint1277842343210275Hindley04210595310Hollesley Bay1927121010Holloway102394440Holme House1652029369797236Hull4542783128Huntercombe0210153Isis0000679Isle Of Wight0000122412Kennet623611111017Kingston4200000Kirkham787386127122145157Kirklevington Grange8342932354519Lancaster Castle21013000Lancaster Farms111285514Latchmere House0108100Leeds1624618197858Leicester89897393563542Lewes91927929302126Leyhill38286340313023Lincoln52573430211421Lindholme58421318324024Littlehey3232016Liverpool20251414951Long Lartin26202322Low Newton1521068483575951Lowdham Grange2101052517447671Maidstone292552131Manchester106889996818566Moorland (Closed)905221142288Morton Hall3111255054New Hall2006053North Sea Camp13278070593038Northallerton11105491411Northumberland000066143114Norwich416031191Nottingham36685334547243Oakwood0000016104Onley45312750625143Parc55429147317679Parkhurst4004000Pentonville70533845544641Peterborough64755557206184Portland20115212915Prescoed0001010Preston171211142104727270Ranby161222961315Reading0002000Risley145792771333936Rochester17971141059Rye Hill22114351224574Send0000000Shepton Mallet0010410Shrewsbury1717209120Spring Hill0000300Stafford51332920494216Standford Hill571034523926Stocken107282814618Stoke Heath2628221362016Styal45134311416Sudbury801161200167162Swaleside6166086425124Swansea241031119Swinfen Hall1204850Thameside0000018106The Mount961477757585235The Verne4613917293Thorn Cross7227210Usk1211000Wakefield1001000Wandsworth18191336725Warren Hill5763233Wayland1718101410126Wealstun277021421Wellingborough5256179950Werrington0110010Wetherby4105182347Whatton0000001Whitemoor12693212Winchester1002020The Wolds112757473384344Woodhill111340001Wormwood Scrubs78534328473158Wymott622120107102Total50474797405636273450428640701 No drugs were found at establishments not listed above  The table below refers to question 203139 and shows the number of prisoners being found in possession of drugs in England and Wales in the timeframe requested. Number of prisoners found with drugs in possession by establishment1, 2007-2013 Establishment2007200820092010201120122013 Acklington2422000 Altcourse12915100138 Ashfield1100000 Ashwell0200000 Aylesbury0010100 Bedford0302000 Belmarsh1130100 Birmingham2020048 Blakenhurst1300000 Blantyre House0001000 Blundeston0000000 Brinsford0000000 Bristol1431201 Brixton1121101 Brockhill0000000 Bronzefield1224011 Buckley Hall7521211 Bullingdon3272122 Camp Hill0001000 Cardiff0027313 Castington1000000 Channings Wood1020021 Chelmsford3310141 Coldingley0000001 Deerbolt0000111 Doncaster1830048 Dorchester1100101 Dovegate40110017 Dover28125440 Drake Hall0100000 Durham152336216105 Elmley9689752 Erlestoke0000140 Everthorpe0110012 Exeter0000044 Featherstone0100111 Feltham5940000 Ford1161312755 Forest Bank6122629052 Foston Hall0000001 Frankland0010000 Garth2521110 Gartree0010000 Glen Parva1111010 Gloucester2200000 Grendon0100000 Guys Marsh2200001 Haslar0001000 Hatfield0000002 Haverigg1231001 Hewell0012023 High Down0101100 Highpoint7300031 Hindley0421101 Hollesley Bay0000000 Holloway2111010 Holme House1018132431 Hull4000000 Isle Of Wight4733011 Kennet0000110 Kirkham0000241 Kirklevington Grange0111101 Lancaster Castle0100000 Lancaster Farms2100101 Leeds3523176 Leicester1450014 Lewes2010112 Leyhill7230121 Lincoln3111011 Lindholme1100221 Littlehey4342010 Liverpool1000110 Low Newton17115320 Lowdham Grange0100031 Maidstone1000000 Manchester3440222 Morton Hall2310011 New Hall0101000 North Sea Camp1120302 Northallerton0000010 Northumberland0000331 Norwich0000021 Nottingham1120113 Oakwood0000002 Onley0004354 Parc4342004 Pentonville5211311 Peterborough3120036 Portland2000000 Preston4794421 Ranby0120000 Risley5421100 Rye Hill0013020 Shrewsbury0200000 Stafford0001100 Standford Hill2215500 Stocken0011100 Stoke Heath0101010 Styal2112012 Sudbury13003141516 Swaleside0400010 Swansea0100000 Thameside0000002 The Mount3512001 The Verne0001100 Thorn Cross1010000 Wakefield1000000 Wandsworth2010100 Warren Hill0000000 Wayland0300000 Wealstun0100031 Wellingborough3011200 Werrington0010000 Wetherby0002110 Whitemoor3010000 Wolds0235024 Woodhill0100000 Wormwood Scrubs4330002 Wymott0120100 Total216245251165118158153  1 No drugs were found at establishments not listed aboveAll figures in this answer have been drawn from live administrative data systems which may be amended at any time. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system. The data are not subject to audit.

Prisons: Employment

Mr Ben Bradshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many and what proportion of prisoners in each prison in England and Wales were working in industrial activity in each year since 2010-11.

Andrew Selous: Work in prisons is a key priority to ensure prisoners are engaged in real work whilst they are in custody. It also gives them the opportunity to learn skills and a work ethic which can increase their chances of finding employment on release, a key element to reducing reoffending. The number of prisoners working in industrial activity reported by public sector prisons increased from around 8,600 in 2010-11 (the first year for which figures are available) to around 9,900 in 2013-14. This delivered an increase in the total hours worked in industrial activities from 10.6 million hours to 14.2 million hours, as published in the National Offender Management Service Annual Report 2013-14: Management Information Addendum  https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/prison-and-probation-trusts-performance-statistics-201314. Private sector prisons have also been supporting this agenda and have reported that they delivered over 1½ million prisoner working hours in commercial and industrial workshops in 2012-13 which provided work for over 1,200 prisoners. An establishment-level breakdown of the average number of prisoners is set out in the table attached for the years 2010-11 to 2013-14, alongside the average population and the proportion of population that were working in industrial activities at each public sector prison site. The variation between levels of industrial activity at each site is influenced by a number of factors, chiefly by the category and role of the prison and the types of prisoner available to work. For example the transient nature of the prisoner population in local establishments, as well as the requirements of commercial customers, mean that this is a more challenging, and often less suitable environment into which to introduce work. The physical capacity of prisons – primarily available space and operating environment – is an additional limiting factor. Many prisoners were built without large work shops. These differences in capacity and capability are reflected in prison Service Level Agreements and in the performance framework; establishments with higher capacity and capability to deliver industrial activity will have higher target hours and this will carry a higher weighting in the prison rating system than for establishments with lower levels of capacity. In addition to industrial work, prisoners also take part in a large number of other activities including education, training and offending behaviour programmes. There are also a large number of prisoners who work in areas that contribute to the upkeep of the prison, for example food preparation and serving as well as cleaning. Prison Rule 31 (1) specifies that a convicted prisoner shall be required to do useful work for not more than 10 hours a day and arrangements shall be made to allow prisoners to work, where possible, outside the cells and in association with one another. The regime in prisons is changing for convicted prisoners as NOMS implements the benchmark core day and the opportunities it provides to extend the working day as well as the potential to increase time in other activities including education. To support this, recreational activities will take place outside the main working part of the day. Under our reforms to the Incentives and Earned Privileges national policy framework, came into effect in adult prisons on 1 November 2013, prisoners are expected to engage in purposeful activity, as well as demonstrate a commitment towards their rehabilitation, reduce their risk of reoffending, behave well and help others if they are to earn privileges.



Prisoners Working in Industrial Activities
(Excel SpreadSheet, 88 KB)

Prisoners' Release

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prisoners sentenced for what offence have been released from prison in error while (a) being held on remand and (b) serving a custodial sentence in each of the last five years; and what the nature of the error was in each case.

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prisoners convicted of what offence and with what period of sentence left to serve who were released from prison in error (a) have and (b) have not been returned to custody in each of the last five years.

Andrew Selous: Releases in error are taken very seriously and action has been taken to tighten processes associated with this area of performance. Incidents are infrequent and all are subject to investigation. The number of prisoners released in error from prison in each of the last five financial years is set out in the three tables below. Table 1 records this information by offence type; table 2 by legal status; and table 3 records the nature of the error. Table 1: Releases in error, 2009/10 to 2013/14 by offenceOffence Type2009/102010/112011/122012/132013/14Burglary118259Drugs Offences757103Fraud And Forgery14211Motoring Offences51000Not Known841417Other81414612Robbery33461Sexual Offences11210Theft And Handling1013746Violence Against The Person1410362 Table 2: Releases in error, 2009/10 to 2013/14, by legal status   Legal status2009/102010/112011/122012/132013/14Remand1410215Sentenced2838342425Unknown/Not recorded261241615Note: does not include persons released in error who were held in custody as a detainee, civil or other prisoner. Table 3: Releases in error, 2009/10 to 2013/14, by nature of error   Reason2009/102010/112011/122012/132013/14Adjudication Award Not Processed44310Bail Condition Not Applied40001Calculation Error37469Early Release00010Error At Court371115Identity Issue42510Incorrect Documentation00040Licence Recall00010Misapplication Of Policy121112Misfiled Warrant10155410Paperwork Error00020Recall Issue10171387Remand Issue49520Unclear70001Unresolved Immigration Issues11518Fail To Appear Warrant Overlooked20000Release Condition Not Met20000Outstanding Absconder20000Unknown/Not Recorded/Under Investigation00008 This data has been drawn from live incident files and is accurate on 30 September 2014. It is, however, subject to variance due to the nature of the live reporting system. Information on the number of prisoners, their offence(s) and period of sentence left to serve at the point at which they were released from prison in error that (a) have and (b) have not been returned to custody in each of the last five years is not readily available. In order to obtain this information, manual interrogation of the prisoners’ records and of a central administrative system would need to be carried out. This could only be achieved at disproportionate cost.

Offenders: Rehabilitation

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will place in the Library copies of all representations he has received on the consequences of excluding low risk offenders under community service orders from the payment by results model; and what estimate he has made of the potential effect of that conclusion on re-offending rates.

Andrew Selous: We are currently implementing major reforms to probation services in order to bring about a reduction in reoffending, with contracts to transfer ownership of the 21 Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRCs) on track to be signed by the end of 2014. The two main elements of the payment mechanism for CRCs are the Fee For Service (FFS) and Payment by Results (PbR). The FFS is primarily paid for mandated activities that deliver the sentence of the court and licence conditions. PbR is paid for the achievement of reductions in reoffending against the baseline historical level and is designed to incentivise bidders to continuously innovate and improve performance throughout the life of the contract. PbR measurement will be based on a series of offender “cohorts”. These are the groups of offenders whose reoffending will determine the providers’ success or otherwise at reducing reoffending rates. Cohorts will be built up on a quarterly and annual basis and will include offenders released from a custodial sentence and offenders who begin a community order (CO) or a suspended sentence order (SSO). Cohorts will exclude offenders not subject to any of the above disposals, and offenders allocated to the National Probation Service. They will also exclude offenders on a CO or SSO which includes only a single electronically monitored requirement (as CRCs will not be responsible for supervising this group) and offenders who are subject only to an unpaid work requirement (as for this group, the court will not have imposed an additional rehabilitative intervention). CRCs will be paid for reducing reoffending rates significantly beyond historic levels. Those historic baselines are modelled to exclude the same types of offender that are excluded in the CRCs’ cohorts, thereby allowing a like-for-like comparison. We have consulted widely on the Transforming Rehabilitation reforms and received and responded to a balance of views. The design of the payment mechanism has been set out in the draft payment mechanism design overview and draft payment mechanism contract schedule, copies of which were deposited in the Library of the House and published on the MoJ website in February 2014.

Cremation

Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many unclaimed funeral urns containing human ashes there are at each council owned crematorium in England.

Simon Hughes: Although the Ministry of Justice has responsibility for cremation legislation and policy, it does not have operational responsibility for cremations and so does not hold the requested information. The costs involved to obtain the information would be disproportionate.

Prisons: Drugs

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many incidents of confiscation of (a) mephedrone, (b) BZP, (c) spice and (d) ketamine there were in prisons in England and Wales in each year since 2010.

Andrew Selous: The National Offender Management Service (NOMS) takes the issue of all contraband in prisons extremely seriously and deploys a comprehensive range of robust searching and security measures to detect items of contraband both at the point of entry to the prison and concealed within the prison. We do not tolerate drugs in prison and anyone caught with them will be punished and could face further prosecution. The success of NOMS Drug Strategy is illustrated by the reduction of drug misuse - as measured by the random mandatory drug testing programme - which has declined by 17.0 percentage points over the past 17 years (positive rates were 24.4% in 1996/7 and 7.4% in 2013/14) despite the fact that more drugs are being tested for. New psychoactive substances (NPS) are a recent issue affecting many parts of society, both here and abroad, including our prisons. NOMS is working with its partners to develop methods for testing for NPS and preventing them from entering establishments. Work is also taking place to increase levels of understanding about the risks that NPS present to offenders, with a view to providing them and those who work with them in prisons and the community with appropriate information, guidance and support. The Government recently introduced an amendment to the Criminal Justice and Courts Bill to expand prisons' powers to test prisoners for non-controlled drugs. This would allow prison staff to conduct mandatory drug tests on prisoners for non-controlled drugs, such as new psychoactive substances and medicines, if the required tests were available. All figures in this answer have been drawn from live administrative data systems which may be amended at any time. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system. The data has been extracted by searching for the exact terms given in the question and not any slang or alternative spellings. The data are not subject to audit. The table below gives the number of seizures in prisons in England and Wales in the timeframe requested of Mephedrone, BZP, Spice and Ketamine, and described exactly as such on the database.20102011201220132014 to 31 JulyMephedrone00032BZP01000Spice1586133262430Ketamine13524TOTAL1690138267436 The term “Legal Highs” represents hundreds of different substances of which spice is just one. To try to calculate the instances of all such substances being confiscated would therefore only be possible at disproportionate cost.

Prisons: Drugs

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many incidents of confiscation of legal highs there were in prisons in England and Wales in each year since 2010.

Andrew Selous: The National Offender Management Service (NOMS) takes the issue of all contraband in prisons extremely seriously and deploys a comprehensive range of robust searching and security measures to detect items of contraband both at the point of entry to the prison and concealed within the prison. We do not tolerate drugs in prison and anyone caught with them will be punished and could face further prosecution. The success of NOMS Drug Strategy is illustrated by the reduction of drug misuse - as measured by the random mandatory drug testing programme - which has declined by 17.0 percentage points over the past 17 years (positive rates were 24.4% in 1996/7 and 7.4% in 2013/14) despite the fact that more drugs are being tested for. New psychoactive substances are a recent issue affecting many parts of society, both here and abroad, including our prisons. NOMS is working with its partners to develop methods for testing for NPS and preventing them from entering establishments. Work is also taking place to increase levels of understanding about the risks that NPS present to offenders, with a view to providing them and those who work with them in prisons and the community with appropriate information, guidance and support. The Government recently introduced an amendment to the Criminal Justice and Courts Bill to expand prisons' powers to test prisoners for non-controlled drugs. This would allow prison staff to conduct mandatory drug tests on prisoners for non-controlled drugs, such as new psychoactive substances and medicines, if the required tests were available. All figures in this answer have been drawn from live administrative data systems which may be amended at any time. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system. The data has been extracted by searching for the exact terms given in the question and not any slang or alternative spellings. The data are not subject to audit. The table below gives the number of seizures in prisons in England and Wales in the timeframe requested of Mephedrone, BZP, Spice and Ketamine, and described exactly as such on the database.20102011201220132014 to 31 JulyMephedrone00032BZP01000Spice1586133262430Ketamine13524TOTAL1690138267436 The term “Legal Highs” represents hundreds of different substances of which spice is just one. To try to calculate the instances of all such substances being confiscated would therefore only be possible at disproportionate cost.

Pay

Mr Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many (a) direct employees, (b) outsourced workers and (c) workers in agencies which report to his Department are paid less than the Living Wage as defined by the Living Wage Foundation.

Simon Hughes: As of 1 August 2014 out of 68732 direct employees, 324 direct employees are paid less than the rate defined by the ‘Living Wage Foundation’. This calculation is based upon the UK living wage as of 4 November 2013. The direct employees included form part of the core Ministry of Justice (MoJ) and its agencies National Offender Management Service (NOMS), HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS), Legal Aid Agency (LAA) and Office of the Public Guardian (OPG). Pay rate decisions made on 1 August2014 mean that no permanent employee on core departmental terms and conditions are paid below the living wage rate. 11 permanent employees individuals on legacy terms & conditions following Machinery of Government changes remain below living wage levels,. These employees have been offered the option to move onto MoJ terms and conditions. In NOMS, the number of direct employees who are paid below living wage levels currently stands at 313.  Number below living wageOn Strength HeadcountProportion of staff employed(i) DepartmentIncludes HQ, NOMS, HMCTS OPG and LAA324687320.47%(ii) AgenciesCore MoJ11229820.05% NOMS313457500.68%  Information on contractors paid less than the rate defined by the ‘Living Wage Foundation’ as a living wage is not recorded centrally. We would need to approach all of our contractors and or their agencies and get them to provide the information. This could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Sentencing: Females

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 8 September 2014, Official Report, column 425, on sentencing: females, which offences were classed within the miscellaneous crimes against society offence class for which female offenders aged 18 and over were sentenced to immediate custody for a first offence in England and Wales in (a) 2012 and (b) 2013; and how many people of each such ethnicity served what sentence length under each such offence.

Simon Hughes: Sentencing decisions are entirely a matter for the independent judiciary. All courts must also follow the sentencing framework and guidelines issued by the independent Sentencing Council, which apply equally to everyone. Any differences in sentencing outcomes may, therefore, occur for a number of reasons including the types of crimes committed and the seriousness of the offence. The Criminal Justice System Strategy & Action Plan, published last summer, set out a number of commitments to promote equality including a series of Minister-led events with stakeholders to explore what more could be done. Further actions designed to promote equality are set out in an update to this plan, which was published recently. In addition, the Criminal Justice Board , which is Chaired by Minister Mike Penning and brings together senior leaders across the justice system, has discussed equality and diversity issues and regularly reviews the statistical data. It has not been possible to provide the exact breakdown requested, as breaking down the ‘Miscellaneous crimes against society' offence class by individual offences, ethnic appearance and sentence lengths produced numbers that were too small to disclose. Therefore the following alternative breakdowns have been provided: Table 1 (A) and (B) shows the number of female offenders aged 18 and above sentenced to immediate custody for a first offence within the 'Miscellaneous crimes against society' offence class by individual offence in England and Wales, 2012-2013. Table 2 (A) and (B) shows the number of female offenders aged 18 and above sentenced to immediate custody for a first offence within the 'Miscellaneous crimes against society' offence class by sentence length and ethnic appearance in England and Wales, 2012-2013. 



Number of female offenders age 18 and above
(Excel SpreadSheet, 60.5 KB)

Witnesses: Young People

Ian Paisley: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps the Government has taken to investigate the feasibility of rolling-out the NSPCC Young Witness Service that was launched in Northern Ireland to the rest of the UK.

Mike Penning: The Ministry of Justice currently funds Victim Support for the provision of support to witnesses attending criminal courts in England and Wales. Funding for this support beyond March 2015 is currently subject to a competitive commissioning process. In developing the requirement specification for the service from April 2015, the Ministry of Justice took the views of a number of organisations working in the field of support for victims and witnesses. This included NSPCC, who provided valuable input drawn from practitioner experience in supporting young witnesses. The requirements of the service include that witnesses should receive tailored support which meets their individual needs, and there is particular emphasis on ensuring the service meets the needs of young, vulnerable and intimidated witnesses. Support for young witnesses includes the provision of a Young Witness Pack, age appropriate explanations about court proceedings, and where needed support at pre-trial visits and home visits. Support will also include supporting and facilitating the attendance of parents or adults accompanying a young witness to court. The service is part of wider arrangements within the Criminal Justice System to support young witnesses at court, including use of special measures such as screens around the witness box to shield the witness from the defendant, use of live-links or recorded evidence-in-chief and a Registered Intermediary to aid communication. As part of our recent announcement detailing our Commitment to Victims, all vulnerable victims and witnesses will be given greater opportunity to give evidence away from the court building, and we will work towards rolling out pre-trial cross examination for child victims nationally, subject to the evaluation of ongoing pilots.

Life Imprisonment

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prisoners in UK prisons are serving life sentences with no possibility of parole.

Andrew Selous: As of 1 October 2014 there were 55 offenders in England and Wales who are serving a life sentence without a minimum term, thereby requiring them to remain in custody for the rest of their lives with no possibility of parole. 50 of the prisoners were being held in Prison Service establishments, whilst the remaining five were detained in secure hospitals under the terms of the Mental Health Act 1983. These figures relate to England and Wales only. We do not hold data in respective of life sentence prisoners sentenced in Scotland or Northern Ireland.

Community Rehabilitation Companies

Toby Perkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many different organisations made applications to be approved as community rehabilitation companies to date.

Toby Perkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many organisations that applied to be approved as community rehabilitation companies have had their applications approved to date.

Andrew Selous: The Government has established 21 Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRCs) to deliver rehabilitation services in England and Wales. These companies, which began operation on 1 June 2014, are currently being managed within the public sector. Last year, we announced a competition to establish the future owners of the 21 CRCs. We have over 80 bids and look to have a healthy competition in all contract package areas, with an average of four bidders per area. All Tier 1 bidders have experience in working with offenders or across the wider criminal justice system. More than half of the bidders contain Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise or mutual components as part of the top tier or an equity holder – and in nearly every contract area there is at least one such bidder. The successful bidders will be announced by the end of 2014 and we are on track to implement these important reforms by 2015. Thirty out of a potential 35 lead bidders passed the first stage of the competition – the Pre Qualification Questionnaire. This list of bidders can be found at the following link: https://www.justice.gov.uk/transforming-rehabilitation/competition

Judges

David T. C. Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people served as district judges in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

Mr Shailesh Vara: The table below provides details of the number of district judges who were in post over the last five financial years. The numbers provided include those sitting in different jurisdictions; Civil, Crime and Family. DJ's (Civil, Magistrates' Courts & Principal Registry of the Family Division) serving in the last 5 years In PostNotesFinancial Year 09/10  DJ (Civil)448 DJ (PRFD)48**This figure includes all Masters, Registrars, Costs Judges and District Judges (PRFD).DJ (MC)143 Financial Year 10/11  DJ (Civil)444 DJ (PRFD)48**This figure includes all Masters, Registrars, Costs Judges and District Judges (PRFD).DJ (MC)137 Financial Year 11/12  DJ (Civil)447 DJ (PRFD)17 DJ (MC)141 Financial Year 12/13  DJ (Civil)446 DJ (PRFD)15 DJ (MC)142 Financial Year 13/14  DJ (Civil)438 DJ (PRFD)12 DJ (MC)142

Magistrates: Gwent

David T. C. Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that there are sufficient magistrates in the Gwent Police Authority area.

Mr Shailesh Vara: The Judicial Complement for magistrates' courts is considered annually, with appropriate consultation with bench chairmen, Lord Chancellor's Advisory Committees and the Chief Magistrate. Workload changes and bench retirements are taken into account, and the aim is to ensure that justices sit a minimum of 13 days per annum, with the average across England and Wales being between 17 and 23 days. Currently the average sittings for Gwent magistrates is about 15 days

Stalking

Mr Elfyn Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will conduct a review of sentences given by courts for people convicted of stalking.

Mike Penning: The Government introduced new stalking laws in 2012 which should lead to increased action against the number of stalkers brought to justice. In 2013-14, 743 prosecutions were commenced under the new stalking legislation. This is a significant increase from 2012-13 and shows that the legislation is starting to take effect. There has also been an increase in the number of convictions and numbers sentenced, under the new law, including an increasing number of custodial sentences. We will continue to keep the legislation, including sentencing outcomes, under review. Within the statutory limits set by Parliament, sentencing in individual cases is a matter for the courts.

Stalking

Mr Elfyn Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether he has any plans to develop programmes for perpetrators of stalking in (a) the community and (b) custody.

Andrew Selous: We have no current plans to develop a specific intervention aimed at this offending group.NOMS commissioning strategy focuses investment on higher risk/harm groups of offenders with whom interventions have a proven impact. Stalkers are a comparatively small group within the offending population with a broad range of offending behaviours which may have different underlying motives or risk factors. The needs of offenders convicted of offences involving stalking behaviour can in some cases be addressed through existing accredited offending behaviour programmes, for example, the Building Better Relationships Programme or a Sex Offender Treatment Programme. Additionally, there may be opportunities to address risk and needs through one-to-one work.NOMS Commissioners continually bear in mind the need to examine the needs of particular offender sub groups. If it becomes apparent that there is any discrete and significant subgroup of offenders with specific needs that are not met by existing provision, our commissioning strategy will change.

Stalking

Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether his Department plans to review sentences handed down to people convicted of stalking.

Mike Penning: The Government introduced new stalking laws in 2012 which should lead to increased action against the number of stalkers brought to justice. In 2013-14, 743 prosecutions were commenced under the new stalking legislation. This is a significant increase from 2012-13 and shows that the legislation is starting to take effect. There has also been an increase in the number of convictions and numbers sentenced, under the new law, including an increasing number of custodial sentences. We will continue to keep the legislation, including sentencing outcomes, under review. Within the statutory limits set by Parliament, sentencing in individual cases is a matter for the courts.

Stalking

Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether his Department plans to develop programmes for perpetrators of stalking in (a) the community and (b) custody.

Andrew Selous: We have no current plans to develop a specific intervention aimed at this offending group. NOMS commissioning strategy focuses investment on higher risk/harm groups of offenders with whom interventions have a proven impact. Stalkers are a comparatively small group within the offending population with a broad range of offending behaviours which may have different underlying motives or risk factors. The needs of offenders convicted of offences involving stalking behaviour can in some cases be addressed through existing accredited offending behaviour programmes, for example, the Building Better Relationships programme or a Sex Offender Treatment Programme. Additionally, there may be opportunities to address risk and needs through one-to-one work. NOMS Commissioners continually bear in mind the need to examine the needs of particular offender sub groups. If it becomes apparent that there is any discrete and significant subgroup of offenders with specific needs that are not met by existing provision, our commissioning strategy will change.

Secure Accommodation

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, which secure children's homes the current Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, the Minister for Prisons, Probation and Rehabilitation, has visited in an official capacity since his appointment; and what the date was of each such visit.

Andrew Selous: Since my appointment as Minister for Prisons, Probation and Rehabilitation in July 2014 I have visited a significant number of adult and youth establishments, and I will continue to do so. I plan to visit a secure children's home on the 11th November.

Mesothelioma: Compensation

Mr Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the decision by the High Court that the Government's proposals for legal aid involving mesothelioma proceedings were not lawfully made, what plans the Government has to initiate a further review.

Mr Shailesh Vara: Legal aid for personal injury claims including mesothelioma was withdrawn by the last Government in April 2000 as conditional fee agreements (CFAs) were available. This Government has since reformed the way in which CFAs operate, but its decision to apply those reforms to mesothelioma cases was recently overturned by the High Court. The Government is considering the way forward in the light of that judgment.

Ministry of Defence

USA

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the titles and objectives are of all enhanced collaborations under way under the auspices of the UK-US Mutual Defence Agreement.

Mr Philip Dunne: The 1958 UK-US Mutual Defence Agreement is a bilateral treaty which provides the basis of the UK’s relationship with the US in respect of nuclear propulsion and nuclear warheads. Most of the activity carried out under the treaty comprises exchanging information, which takes place through a series of joint working groups. In addition, there are two enhanced collaborations, which are focused on developing capabilities:Enhanced Nuclear Safety – the objective of which is to develop architectures and technologies related to warhead safety.Warhead Electrical System – the objective of which is to develop architectures and technologies related to warhead electrical systems.Both enhanced collaborations contribute to ensuring that the UK maintains our nuclear warhead stockpile on a continuing basis.

Performance Appraisal

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many officials in his Department of each (a) gender, (b) ethnicity and (c) age received the Civil Service Employment Policy Performance Management System's (i) exceeded, (ii) met and (iii) must improve performance mark in 2013-14.

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many officials in his Department completed the Civil Service Employment Policy Performance Management System in 2013-14; how many and what proportion of those officials received the (a) exceeded, (b) met and (c) must improve performance mark; and how many and what proportion (i) did and (ii) did not qualify for a bonus under that process.

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many officials in his Department who received the (a) exceeded, (b) met and (c) must improve performance mark under the Civil Service Employment Policy Performance Management System (i) had a disability, (ii) worked full-time and (iii) worked part-time in 2013-14.

Anna Soubry: 41,130 Ministry of Defence (MOD) civilian personnel below the Senior Civil Service were the subject of a Performance Appraisal Report (PAR) for reporting year 2013-14 and therefore took part in Performance Management. The moderated performance outcomes are as follows:  Box 1Box 2Box 3Submitted PARs:9,69028,9402,510Proportion:23.5%70.4%6.1% A non-consolidated performance award has been made to those individuals who received a Box 1 outcome. The MOD will publish an annual report on the outcome of the performance management process later this year; this will include a thorough analysis of the 2013-14 data broken down by declared protected characteristics. It will also show the relevant declaration rates in support of this data analysis.

Cardiff Airport

David T. C. Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what restrictions there are on aircraft wanting to take off and land at Rhoose Airport, Cardiff.

Anna Soubry: I have taken the hon. Member's question to refer to the work which the Ministry of Defence (MOD) is undertaking in support of the Welsh Government’s initiative to develop an Air Business Park at MOD St Athan. Under existing arrangements, while the new airfield contractor completes work-up training, the airfield is available for take offs and landings from Monday to Friday between 9 am and 5 pm and, with 24 hours notice on Saturday and Sunday between the same hours. Arrangements to operate outside these hours may be made by prior request, subject to manpower availability. To support these arrangements the RAF is providing additional air traffic controllers, at the Welsh Governments request. We understand that the Welsh Government’s intention is to provide airfield opening hours of 9 am to 5 pm, 7 days per week, from December 2014.

Armed Forces: Uniforms

Alison Seabeck: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, from which companies each of the armed services have secured waterproof clothing requirement in the last four years.

Alison Seabeck: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when the Army's waterproof clothing requirement and supplier last changed.

Alison Seabeck: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what proportion of orders for waterproof military clothing have been progressed through DE and S Defence Clothing in the last four years.

Alison Seabeck: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether an invitation to tender has been put out for military waterproof clothing contract.

Alison Seabeck: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when he plans to publish the next tape seam contract.

Mr Julian Brazier: The Defence Clothing Team, part of Defence Equipment & Support, is responsible for providing all waterproof clothing under the Waterproof Garments Contract to the Regular Forces, Army Reservists, Ministry Of Defence (MOD) Police and Guards, and Cadets. Since March 2011 waterproof clothing has been supplied to the MOD, under the Waterproof Garments Contract, by ITURRI SA. The previous contractor, awarded the contract in March 2007, was Thistle Garments Ltd. The advert and requirement for the new Waterproof Garments Contract, commonly known as the Taped Seam Contract, is due to be published in the Official Journal for the European Union (OJEU) and the MOD Defence Contracts Bulletin (DCB) in November. It will give potential providers details on how to express an interest in bidding for the requirement. Once the contract has been awarded, a contract award notice will be published in the OJEU and DCB. This contract award notice will provide details of the winning bidder and the value of the contract.

MOD St Athan

David T. C. Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will assess his Department's relationship with private companies based at MOD St Athan.

Anna Soubry: The Ministry of Defence (MOD) fully understands the importance of this development in Wales, and is therefore working with the Welsh Government to ensure the success of the transition to a wholly civil operation by 2019. However, since the private companies based at MOD St Athan are clients of the Welsh Government, the only relationships which they hold are with the Welsh Government.

Kurds

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate he has made of the military resources which have been provided to Kurdish forces by the UK in the last three years.

Mr Mark Francois: The Ministry of Defence has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Torbay

Mr Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many visits were made by Ministers of his Department to Torbay constituency in the 12 months to 14 October 2014; whom the invitation for each such visit was issued by; and what the cost to the public purse was of each such visit.

Anna Soubry: The Ministry of Defence has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

USA

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what communications (a) he and (b) officials in his Department have had with his US counterpart or US defense department officials in 2014 regarding the extension of the 1958 US-UK Mutual Defense Agreement on atomic energy matters.

Mr Julian Brazier: Officials from the Ministry of Defence and the Foreign & Commonwealth Office have communicated with US officials in face-to-face meetings and by correspondence to agree the terms of the Amending Agreement to renew the 1958 Mutual Defence Agreement. The Amending Agreement was signed, subject to ratification, by the UK and US Governments on 22 July 2014 and laid before Parliament on 16 October 2014.

Devonport Dockyard

Oliver Colvile: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the effect of the Maritime Support Delivery Framework will be on employment levels at HMNB Devonport.

Mr Julian Brazier: The Maritime Support Delivery Framework contracts will sustain around 7,500 jobs in total, with around 4,000 of these jobs at Her Majesty’s Naval Base (HMNB) Devonport, a further 1,500 at HMNB Clyde and more than 2,000 at HMNB Portsmouth.

Depleted Uranium

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what his policy is on the use of depleted uranium by UK armed forces operating in Iraq and Syria.

Mr Mark Francois: The Ministry of Defence has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Iraq

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate he has made of the length of time that UK military forces will be engaged in Iraq.

Anna Soubry: The Ministry of Defence has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Iraq

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many British forces have been deployed on the ground in northern Iraq since 26 September 2014.

Mr Mark Francois: The Ministry of Defence has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Navy

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the order of battle is for the Fleet.

Mr Mark Francois: The Ministry of Defence has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Colombia

Mr Gerry Sutcliffe: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many British personnel have been deployed to Colombia to participate in training assistance in the last six months.

Mr Mark Francois: The Ministry of Defence has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Colombia

Mr Gerry Sutcliffe: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, which units of the Colombian military have received British military training in the last three years.

Mr Mark Francois: The Ministry of Defence has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Armed Forces: Uniforms

Alison Seabeck: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent steps he has taken to ensure close combat soldiers are given the highest quality clothing for their future activities.

Mr Julian Brazier: The Ministry Of Defence takes all measures possible to ensure that the clothing issued to service personnel is both right for the job and right for them. The range, quality and versatility of the clothing we issue to our troops is far greater than it has ever been and we are continually working to make further improvements. Additionally, we apply rigorous technical specifications and quality standards; these are reviewed regularly to ensure they remain fit for purpose.

DSG Ashchurch

Alison Seabeck: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the potential effect on the housing targets within the Land Release Programme of not selling DSG Ashchurch under the Controlled Humidity Environment Capability and related projects programme.

Mr Philip Dunne: If Ashchurch was not sold, the Ministry of Defence would lose at least 2,100 housing units from its land release target.

DSG Ashchurch

Mrs Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will place a copy of all conditioning reports on the approximate costs of repairing Ashchurch subsequent to that commissioned from Babcock dated 3 February 2011 in the Library; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Philip Dunne: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 20 October 2014 to Questions UIN 210596 and UIN 210745, which can be found at the following link: http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-questions-answers/?page=1&max=20&questiontype=AllQuestions&house=commons%2clords&uin=210596

DSG Ashchurch

Mrs Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will place copies of all reviews carried out by his Department into the phased site closure of MoD Ashchurch in the Library; and if he will make a statement.

Mrs Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will place in the Library a copy of the Ashchurch relocation assessment study along with details of its impact assessment and housing start number; and if he will make a statement.

Alison Seabeck: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department has included its cost estimate for the future delivery of controlled humidity environment capability the cost of (a) making the workforce redundant and (b) the cost of recruiting and training staff for the new site.

Anna Soubry: The Ministry of Defence (MOD) is still undertaking studies into the future of the site at MOD Ashchurch. Once all functions currently undertaken at MOD Ashchurch have been relocated to other facilities, appropriate supporting documentation will be placed in the Library of the House.

Armed Forces: Offenders

Mrs Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the Answer of 28 April 2014 to Question 195819, what progress he has made on resolving the unlawful action undertaken by his Department in punishing service personnel given a police caution; and if he will make a statement.

Mrs Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many complaints his Department has received relating to punishments administered within the service justice or discipline system following the receipt of a police caution were stayed within the service complaints system; and if he will make a statement.

Mrs Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what work Army Personnel Centre Glasgow has undertaken to identify and locate army personnel who have been disciplined after receiving a police caution; and if he will make a statement.

Anna Soubry: As I stated in my answer of 28 April 2014 (Official Report, columns 443-444W) the implications for Defence of changes made in 2011 to rehabilitation legislation relating to police cautions are complex and are the subject of advice to Minister being prepared by officials. A total of five complaints arising from these changes were received from Service personnel in 2012. One was withdrawn and the remaining four complaints have been suspended pending the outome of Ministers' deliberation.The initial exercise to determine the numbers of personnel affected by these legislative changes was undertaken to inform officials’ advice to Ministers. However, no detailed exercise to locate affected personnel has been undertaken.When I have reached a decision, I will inform the House.

Land

Alison Seabeck: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much land his Department has released under the Land Release Programme; what sites have been so released; and how many homes his Department expects to be built on those sites.

Anna Soubry: Under the Land Release Programme, the Ministry of Defence has released over 3,250 ha of land and property, with the potential for the construction of 31,103 new homes.A table listing those sites which have been released is attached.



Attachment to 210641 - MOD Consolidated Housing
(Excel SpreadSheet, 38 KB)

Colombia

Robert Flello: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether any sales of equipment to the Colombian armed forces by any British company resulted from the conference aboard HMS Richmond in Cartagena in January 2014.

Mr Philip Dunne: These events are to showcase British industry and provide the Colombian Ministry of Defence (MOD) with an opportunity to understand the wide range of equipment on offer. Although there have currently been no sales of equipment to Colombia directly attributable to the talks held on board HMS RICHMOND, important commercial links have been established and developed between the Colombian MOD and British companies, and we continue this relationship building, in line with our defence engagement strategy.

Afghanistan

Robert Flello: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what plans his Department has for the tented camp used by HM Forces at Kandahar; and whether Agility and any other organisation involved in the disposal of the camp have been instructed to considered urgent humanitarian requirements for such a camp.

Mr Mark Francois: The Ministry of Defence has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Department for Work and Pensions

Access to Work Programme

Mr Nicholas Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, under what circumstances a deaf person can be provided with an interpreter under the Access to Work Scheme.

Mr Mark Harper: All Access to Work applications are looked at on an individual basis and support is awarded based on a person’s disability, their job role and tasks alongside the barriers they face at work. An Access to Work adviser would work closely with the applicant and their employer to identify the type, extent and appropriate level of communication support required.

Income Support

Mr Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will commission survey research to make an estimate of the proportion of income support claimants who are aware of social tariffs available to help them access landlines.

Esther McVey: Income Support provides extra money to help people on a low income. There are no plans to commission a survey to estimate the proportion of claimants who are aware of social tariffs available to help them access landlines.

Personal Independence Payment

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people are entitled to the mobility element of personal independence payments.

Mr Mark Harper: The latest available data for personal independence payment claims, including details on the number of people receiving the mobility component, have been published and are available from the GOV.UK website:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/personal-independence-payment-april-2013-to-july-2014

Social Security Benefits: Disqualification

Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what changes have been made to the benefits sanctions regime since 2010.

Esther McVey: For most recent changes please see the following link for the Government response to Matthew Oakley’s Review of Sanctions:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/jobseekers-allowance-sanctions-independent-review-government-response

Jobseeker's Allowance: Scotland

Dr Eilidh Whiteford: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people aged 18 to 21 claimed jobseekers allowance in Scotland; what total amount was claimed in each of the last three years; and what the average amount claimed per person was in each of the last three years.

Esther McVey: The information is in the table: Jobseekers Allowance for 18-21 year-olds in Scotland2011/122012/132013/14Claimants (thousands)25,90023,40018,100Expenditure (nominal, £m)£74£69£52Average payment per week£54.43£57.23£57.39 Notes:  1. Estimates are based on the Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study, Quarterly Statistical Enquiry and expenditure data for Jobseeker’s Allowance.2. Caseload and average amounts paid are averaged over each financial year.

Universal Credit

Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will take steps to ensure that the gainful self-employment test under universal credit takes into account (a) the freelance status of performers and (b) the irregular work patterns of performers when applied to those applicants.

Esther McVey: In Universal Credit a claimant is gainfully self-employed where:· They are carrying on a trade, profession or vocation as their main form of employment;· Their earnings from the trade, profession or vocation are self-employed earnings;· The trade, profession or vocation is organised, developed, regular and carried on in expectation of profit. The freelance status of performers would not affect their eligibility for Universal Credit, or whether they meet the definition of gainful self-employment . Whilst the self-employment must be regular, neither the work patterns nor the claimant’s earnings need to be so. The Department recognises that self-employment work patterns often vary and a range of factors can influence the amount and duration of self-employed work. Universal Credit is assessed and paid monthly, which enables it to adjust quickly to take account of changes in earnings, ensuring claimants receive the right level of support at the right time.

Employment and Support Allowance

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what discussions he has had with disability groups on replacing tax-free disability living allowance and incapacity benefit with taxable contribution-based employment and support allowance.

Mr Mark Harper: No recent discussions have taken place between the Department and disability groups on this specific issue.

Unemployment

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many unemployed people are (a) not in receipt of any of the benefits to which they are entitled and (b) not registered at job centres.

Esther McVey: The number of unemployed people is measured by the Labour Force Survey (LFS). The LFS is not able to identify these groups separately. Statistics on registrations are no longer collected as unemployed people are not required to register at a Jobcentre.

Disability

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much his Department is spending in the Disability Confident campaign; and how the effect of such spending is being measured.

Mr Mark Harper: The budget for the Disability Confident campaign events has come from the Disability Directorate non-staff allocation; and from contributions in kind from Disability Confident partners. In the Financial Year 2013-2014, £100,000 was allocated to the Disability Confident campaign events; and an estimated further £215,000 was contributed in kind by external partners. In the current Financial Year, around £20,000 has been spent so far on the campaign. The effect of this spending has to date been measured in terms of the number of employers reached directly through the events (1,100) and the reach and impact of communications via no-cost channels such as social media. For example on 18 July, the 1st anniversary of the launch of the campaign, we achieved a significant reach on Twitter (a total of 19m impressions), delivering wider awareness of the campaign and prompting partners and stakeholders to voice their support and commitment. Over the second year of the campaign, we will continue to build on the reach of communications, but will also assess specific, measurable, action taken by employers as a result of the campaign.

Social Security Benefits: Disqualification

Fabian Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what guidance his Department gives to local authorities on ensuring that benefit claimants are not given conflicting appointments which carry non-attendance sanctions by both his Department and those authorities.

Esther McVey: DWP does not issue any guidance to local authorities around ensuring that benefit claimants are not given conflicting appointments. However, whenever a benefit claimant is required to attend an interview with a DWP adviser they are given information, verbally and/or in writing, which includes details about the interview itself and what they are required to do if they are unable to attend that interview.

Employment and Support Allowance

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of people no longer eligible for contributions-based employment and support allowance (ESA) because of time-limiting to one year have qualified for an alternative income-related benefit at the termination of contributory ESA payments in each year since implementation of that policy; and what estimate his Department has made of the proportion of the people affected by that policy who have moved into work as a result.

Mr Mark Harper: Information about claimants who were entitled to means tested ESA within a month of their entitlement to contributory ESA expiring are in the table below. YearNumber of Claimants claiming means tested ESA within a month of contributory ESA expiring2012/1369,0002013/1459,000 Information on claimants qualifying for Income Support, income-related Jobseeker’s Allowance, Pension Credit and claimants who have moved into work as a result of time limiting is not collated centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost. Notes: 1. The 2012/13 data includes a number of cases who had been in receipt of contributory ESA for 12 months or more at the point the change was introduced. 2. This estimate is based on the Generalised Matching Service, which is a departmental data capture tool. The data have not been fully quality-assured. This type of information does not form part of the regular official statistics outputs that are released by the Department in accordance with the UK Statistics Authority’s Code of Practice.

Employment and Support Allowance

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he made of the effect of the introduction of contribution-based employment and support allowance on the income of people previously receiving disability living allowance or incapacity benefit.

Mr Mark Harper: The Department is currently reassessing most people on old-style incapacity benefits (Incapacity Benefit, Severe Disablement Allowance, and Income Support where paid on the grounds of incapacity), to see if they are fit for work or eligible for Employment and Support Allowance (ESA).The structure of ESA and its rates of benefit and additions vary significantly from those of the incapacity benefits it is replacing. We have therefore given a commitment that no existing incapacity benefit claimant whose award qualifies for conversion to ESA will see a reduction in the level of their benefit entitlement at the point of change.Where on conversion to ESA a claimant receives more by way of their existing incapacity benefit award than they otherwise would via ESA, the rate of their existing award will be frozen and they will be awarded a transitional addition on top of their ESA award, equivalent to the shortfall between the two rates. Where a claimant's ESA award includes such a top-up payment, the amount of benefit they get thereafter will not normally rise until the standard amount of ESA payable at the point of conversion increases (most commonly by virtue of annual up-ratings) by an amount equal to the amount of the top-up payment.Where, on conversion to ESA, a claimant is entitled to less by way of their existing incapacity award than they are via ESA, their benefit will immediately be increased to the ESA rate payable.

Access to Work Programme

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if his Department will provide support from the Access to Work scheme to people with mental health problems before (a) the offer of a job or (b) a job interview to ensure parity with people with other impairments.

Mr Mark Harper: Whilst Access to Work has recently been extended to support some pre-employment activity such as Supported Internships, Traineeships and work experience, it is primarily designed to support those in work or those about to start work. AtW can however provide communication support at interviews including with advocacy to assist people with mental health conditions. Programmes such as Work Programme and Work Choice are designed to help people who are seeking work, including those with mental health conditions. Support for transport costs to attend a job interview would not be provided by Access to Work, however Work Coaches are able to access the Flexible Support Fund where they identify transport costs as a barrier to work

Housing Benefit

Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether housing benefit claimants who have become self employed must use a self employment declaration form, as the means of reporting that information.

Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether a housing benefit claimant who undertakes permitted work on a self-employment basis is required to complete a self employment declaration form.

Steve Webb: Whilst it is for the DWP to set Housing Benefit policy, local authorities have a statutory duty to undertake day-to-day administration and pay claimants. It would be for local authorities to determine how they obtain the information they need from claimants who undertake permitted work on a self-employed basis or who have started self-employment.

Housing Benefit

Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, who is responsible for repaying an overpayment of housing benefit in cases where the local authority makes that payment direct to a landlord.

Mr Mark Harper: Responsibility for recovery of Housing Benefit overpayments lies with the Local Authority who paid the Housing Benefit and now seek to recover it. They will make the decision firstly on whether it is an overpayment and secondly whether it is recoverable and from whom it is recoverable. The legislation provides for instances of recovery of housing benefit overpayments direct from the landlord where it has been paid to the landlord as long as the overpayment is recoverable and the Local Authority has decided to recover it. However, if the overpayment arose as a result of a misrepresentation or a failure to disclose a material fact by the tenant, or an appointee, then it can only be recovered from the person who misrepresented or failed to disclose i.e. the tenant or the appointee. The legislation also covers a number of other instances where recovery could not be sought from the landlord.

Personal Independence Payment

Sir Roger Gale: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the number of cases awaiting individual assessments by Atos; what estimate he has made of the waiting time between personal independence payment (PIP) claims, assessment and awards being made; and what estimate he has made of the amount due in PIP awards that is outstanding.

Mr Mark Harper: Information on the number of cases awaiting individual assessments is not routinely supplied and is not published data.Departmental statisticians are continuing to develop measures around clearance times and waiting times to ensure they provide a rounded and representative picture of Personal Independence Payment system performance, improvement activity and the claimants’ experience. These statistics will be published as soon as they are ready, with the release pre-announced in line with United Kingdom Statistics Authority release protocolsNo estimate has been made of the amount due in PIP awards that is outstanding as each claim must be individually assessed before entitlement can be determined.

Pensions: Financial Assistance Scheme

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the cost to the Financial Assistance Scheme of recalculating annual entitlement related to services after 1997 and changes to annuity or notional annuity income in respect of (a) each individual overpayment and (b) total overpayments.

Steve Webb: No such estimate has been made.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Animal Welfare

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she has taken to ensure that statistics which record mis-stunning of animals are accurate; and if she will make a statement.

George Eustice: I refer the Rt Hon Member to the answer given to UIN 209694.

Quagga Mussels

Richard Benyon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she has taken to ensure bio-security and monitoring protocols are in place to ensure that quagga mussels can be quickly identified and eradicated.

Richard Benyon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to eradicate quagga mussels in the Colne Valley.

Richard Benyon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that quagga mussels do not spread from the Thames into the River Kennet and other tributaries.

George Eustice: The likelihood of the arrival of the quagga mussel had been identified by horizon scanning: the Environment Agency discovered its presence during routine monitoring. We are currently exploring options while undertaking further monitoring work to establish its distribution. A local Environment Agency Task Group and a National Freshwater Task Group (with representation from Defra and other GB Administrations) has been set-up to agree and coordinate action. We are working with water companies and continuing to promote positive biosecurity practices amongst recreational water users by asking them to apply the “Check, Clean, Dry” process launched by Defra in 2011, to prevent the entry or slow the spread of aquatic invasive species.

Torbay

Mr Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many visits were made by Ministers of her Department to Torbay constituency in the 12 months to 14 October 2014; whom the invitation for each such visit was issued by; and what the cost to the public purse was of each such visit.

Dan Rogerson: There have been no official Ministerial invitations or visits to the Torbay constituency in 12 months to 14 October 2014.

Energy

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether the annual report on performance against Greening Government commitments will (a) for each department exclude (i) changes in energy use caused wholly or mainly by changes in the weather and (ii) carbon savings from closure of buildings or offices where they continue to be used either by government or by another occupier for whatever purpose and (b) provide information on the number and proportion of (A) central and (B) local government buildings that meet the requirements for Display Energy certificates; on what date the 2014 annual report will be published; and if she will make a statement.

Dan Rogerson: The Annual Report of Government’s 2013-14 performance against the Greening Government Commitments (GGCs) will be published later this year. The GGC framework applies to the estate and operations of central government departments and their arms’ length bodies in England; local government entities are not in scope. It will report government’s performance as a whole, and for each reporting department, against each of the GGC targets.   Energy consumption data reported by departments against the target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 25% by 2015 is not weather-corrected and carbon savings are not attributed to specific building closures or changes of use or occupants. The annual report will however set out case studies and examples of good practice showing what measures departments have taken to achieve those savings. If changes of use or occupants occurs within the Government estate this will be reflected in the data. However, the data will not reflect the carbon impacts of the use of buildings transferring to use or occupancy outside the Government estate.   The report will not include the number and proportion of government buildings that meet the requirements for Display Energy Certificates because the number of certificates is not covered by the Greening Government Commitments reporting standards framework and Departments are therefore not required to report on this aspect.

Environment Agency and Natural England

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when she expects to receive the progress report from the Environment Agency and Natural England on the action plan in response to the Triennial Review of those agencies.

Dan Rogerson: The report from the Environment Agency and Natural England on positive progress towards implementation of the Triennial Review Conclusions and Action Plan has been received and is being considered prior to publication.

Natural Resources

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when her Department will respond to the State of Nature Capital report published by the Natural Capital Committee in March 2014.

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans she has to extend the life of the Natural Capital Committee beyond March 2015.

George Eustice: My Right Honourable Friend the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Elizabeth Truss) made a Written Ministerial Statement today containing the Government’s response to the Natural Capital Committee’s second State of Natural Capital Report. The statement also contains details of an extension to the Natural Capital Committee’s term.A copy of the Statement is attached.



SoS Statement - National Capital Report
(Word Document, 35 KB)

Department for Communities and Local Government

Housing: Greater London

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many homes in each London Borough failed to meet the decent homes standard in each year since 2010.

Brandon Lewis: The last Labour Government failed to meet its Decent Homes target. It pledged in 2000 that: “We... are committed to ensuring that all social housing is of a decent standard within 10 years” (DETR, Quality and Choice: A Decent Home for All: The Housing Green Paper, April 2000, p.11). But almost one in ten homes failed to meet the standard by 2010. Indeed, the last Labour Government actually cut the Decent Homes programme by £150 million in July 2009, cannibalising the housing programme to pay for other policies. I also observe the last Prime Minister planned to cut back housing investment, remarking before the general election: “Housing is essentially a private sector activity. Let's be honest about this... I don't see a need for us to continue with such a big renovation programme” (BBC Newsnight, 30 April 2010).By contrast, the Coalition Government is investing £2.3 billion from 2011 to 2016 to improve the quality of existing social housing through the Decent Homes programme and large-scale voluntary transfer gap funding.Across England, the number of non-decent local authority dwellings has fallen from 291,600 on 1 April 2010 to 184,100 in April 2013, and continues to fall thanks to our continuing investment.The attached table shows figures for London Boroughs, based on their own estimates. Figures for some Boroughs fluctuate from year to year due to councils carrying out more thorough assessments on the state of individual properties; yet there is a clear downward trend across London. 



Decent Standard Homes Table
(Word Document, 22.88 KB)

Offences against Children: Rotherham

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps he plans to take to implement the recommendations made in the Independent Inquiry into child sexual exploitation in Rotherham from 1997 to 2013.

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to ensure that all councils review their procedures for dealing with the sexual exploitation of children following the report on Rotherham Council; and if he will make a statement.

Kris Hopkins: I refer the hon.Members to the written statement made on 10 September, Official Report, Column 37WS, in which my rt. hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (Eric Pickles), indicated his intention to write to leaders of principal councils asking them to consider the implications of the Jay report for their own authority. In the event he wrote jointly with my rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Education (Nicky Morgan) on 24 September with copies to Chairmen of all Health and Wellbeing Boards in England. A copy of this letter can be seen at:https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/358979/140924_-_Rotherham_letter_joint_final.pdf. My rt. hon. Friend the Home Secretary (Theresa May) has also written in similar terms to Chief Constables with copies to Police and Crime Commissioners. Copies of both letters are attached.



Letters from DCLG/DfE and Home Office
(PDF Document, 1.06 MB)

Planning Permission

Caroline Nokes: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what funding is available for local authorities to support neighbourhood plans.

Brandon Lewis: The Department is committed to meeting the costs of new burdens on local authorities. Local authorities have a duty to support neighbourhood planning and are also required to fund the independent examination and referendum. Local authorities can currently claim up to £30,000 for each Neighbourhood Plan, with additional funding available in non-parished areas and designated business areas.

Planning Permission

Caroline Nokes: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what advice is available to communities formulating neighbourhood plans.

Brandon Lewis: A large range of advice is available to communities formulating Neighbourhood Plans. The Department commissioned a consortium led by Locality to deliver a £10.5 million support programme for 2013-15, which provides help and assistance on neighbourhood planning, including direct support from specialist planning advisors, a telephone advice service and a range of support materials on the http://www.mycommunityrights.org.uk website. Planning Aid England, which is part of this consortium, also offers some free advice on neighbourhood planning. The Department also published planning guidance earlier this year to provide further advice on neighbourhood planning. Local planning authorities also have a duty to support neighbourhood planning by providing advice and assistance.

Planning Permission

Caroline Nokes: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many communities have produced neighbourhood development plans.

Brandon Lewis: As of 17 October 2014 the Department is aware of over 1,200 communities having started the process of neighbourhood planning. Of these, 138 communities have reached the stage of producing a draft Neighbourhood Plan for pre-submission consultation, of which 87 have submitted their plan to the local planning authority for examination, 30 have passed referendum and 25 have been brought into force (made).

Broadband

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to encourage the provision of broadband in new homes.

Brandon Lewis: DCLG and DCMS are working with home builders and communications infrastructure providers to develop an action plan to ensure that new developments have access to superfast broadband. That action plan will be made publicly available shortly.

Urban Areas

Ian Paisley: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to eradicate the commercial and aesthetic effects of derelict and abandoned buildings in town centres.

Brandon Lewis: Local authorities have a range of powers to tackle derelict and abandoned land and buildings including:- section 215 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 –which enables local authorities to serve a notice requiring owners to clean up land and buildings where their condition adversely affects the amenity of the area. Local authorities can also take direct action and recover the costs.- section 1 of the Localism Act 2011 – we encourage local councils, including eligible parish councils, to consider the general power of competence in the Localism Act 2011. This removes the need to establish new narrow powers in response to particular issues. Local authorities have the power to act innovatively for their local communities and they can use the power without constantly looking back to Whitehall for permission.- compulsory purchase powers – as a last resort, local authorities have a range of powers to acquire land for different purposes provided there is a compelling case in the public interest. In February we amended the Community Infrastructure Levy to make it fairer and more flexible, including specific measures to encourage brownfield development. We also consulted on removing section 106 affordable housing contributions for small sites, as well as applying a similar exemption to vacant buildings brought back into use. The Government will publish a response to the consultation shortly. We have exempted empty new builds from empty property rates for up to 18 months up to state aid limits. Also, our £1 billion package of business rates measures for 2014-15 included a £1,000 discount for shops, pubs and restaurants with rateable values below £50,000 for 2 years and a new re-occupation relief which cuts business rates by half for 18 months for businesses taking on a long-term empty retail property. The Department has also made a number of deregulatory reforms to the planning system that encourage the re-use of existing, under-utilised buildings and building space. For example, there are permitted development rights that allow redundant space above shops to change to residential use as well as rights that allow offices to change to residential use. These, along with other change of use permitted development rights are making more productive use of our building stock and bringing forward much needed new homes.

Local Government: Pay

Mr Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many local authority employees are paid a salary higher than that of the Prime Minister.

Mr Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many local authority employees are paid a salary of over £100,000 per annum.

Kris Hopkins: This information is not held centrally. Local authorities are independent employers and my Department does not collect detailed information about the remuneration of senior local authority staff. Local authorities are required to publish details of the remuneration of their most senior employees in their annual Statements of Accounts. This includes information about salary, fees, allowances, expenses, employer’s pension contribution and other benefits. Statements of Accounts must be available for public inspection including on an authority’s website. The Government has taken steps to further increase the transparency and accountability of local decisions on pay and reward through the local government transparency code. On 3 October, the Department further strengthened the public’s ability to scrutinise councils by including a requirement in the code that councils publish information on salaries of employees earning £50,000 or more, as well as a range of other pay and workforce information.In addition, measures introduced in the Localism Act 2011 require authorities to publish an annual statement explaining their policies toward the pay and reward of their staff, particularly senior staff. Our guidance on these measures asks councils to give full council the opportunity to vote on senior appointments and exit packages of £100,000 or more before they are rubber-stamped.

HM Treasury

Stamp Duty Land Tax

Mr Dominic Raab: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the total stamp duty yield has been from sales of residential properties of a value between £250,000 and £500,000 in (a) Esher and Walton constituency, (b) London, (c) the South East, (d) England and (e) the UK in each year since 2000.

Mr Dominic Raab: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what proportion of total sales of residential properties fell below the threshold for one per cent stamp duty in (a) Esher and Walton constituency, (b) London, (c) the South East, (d) England and (e) the UK in each year since 2000.

Mr Dominic Raab: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the total stamp duty duty yield has been from sales of residential properties of a value between £125,000 and £250,000 in (a) Esher and Walton constituency, (b) London, (c) the South East, (d) England and (e) the UK in each year since 2000.

Mr David Gauke: The information requested is set out in the table below going back to 2005-06. Prior to this point the information requested is not held in the format required and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.The transactions counted as falling below the one per cent stamp duty threshold are all transactions where Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) have received a stamp duty return. There are numerous residential property transactions that are not required to submit a return to HMRC, most notably those where the consideration is less than £40,000. The detailed reasons for non-notification can be found at the following address. http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/sdlt/reliefs-exemptions/no-sdlt-return.htm Please see our publication UK stamp tax statistics 2012 to 2013 to understand these tables further. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-stamp-tax-statisticsTables are provided in three parts:  Part A: Estimated Provisional Residential SDLT Revenue by Government Office Region and Consideration Band years 2005-06 to 2013-14 Part B: Estimated Provisional Residential SDLT Revenue for Esher and Walton Constituency by Consideration Band for years 2005-06 to 2013-14 Part C: Percentage of SDLT returns under £125,000 for Esher and Walton Constituency and Government Office Region for years 2005-06 to 2013-14  Part A: Estimated Provisional Residential SDLT Revenue by Government Office Region and Consideration Band years 2005-06 to 2013-14: This data represents estimates that have been produced for this Parliamentary Question. The data has been rounded to the nearest £5million. As such, the sum of the individual entries may not be equal to the “all” totals given in the table but the “all” totals remain consistent with the published National Statistics. 2013-14Region£125,001-£250,000£250,001-£500,000All Bands TotalLondon956052720South East1655451385England7802,0506,130UK8802,2056,450 2012-13Region£125,001-£250,000£250,001-£500,000All Bands TotalLondon854652020South East1354151080England6151,5654,650UK6901,6754,905 2011-12Region£125,001-£250,000£250,001-£500,000All Bands TotalLondon504201,640South East105375940England4751,4403,985UK5451,5604,220 2010-11Region£125,001-£250,000£250,001-£500,000All Bands TotalLondon503801,345South East105400955England4751,4703,790UK5401,5754,040   2009-10Region£125,001-£250,000£250,001-£500,000All Bands TotalLondon653201,035South East100350810England4051,2753,080UK4501,3653,290 2008-09Region£125,001-£250,000£250,001-£500,000All Bands TotalLondon65260870South East100270680England4401,0352,680UK5051,1552,950 2007-08Region£125,001-£250,000£250,001-£500,000All Bands TotalLondon1556501,895South East2356351,505England1,1252,4606,050UK1,2802,7406,680 2006-07Region£125,001-£250,000£250,001-£500,000All Bands TotalLondon2106451,795South East2706301,450England1,2852,4305,850UK1,4552,6606,375 2005-06Region£125,001-£250,000£250,001-£500,000All Bands TotalLondon1904751,275South East2354551,055England1,0801,7454,240UK1,1751,9104,585   Part B: Estimated Provisional Residential SDLT Revenue for Esher and Walton Constituency by Consideration Band for years 2005-06 to 2013-14 This data represents estimates that have been produced for this Parliamentary Question. The data for individual bands has been rounded to the nearest £1million. The data for All Bands has been rounded to the nearest £5million. As such, the sum of the individual entries may not be equal to the “all” totals given in the table but the “all” totals remain consistent with the published National Statistics. Year£120,001-250,000£250,001-500,000All Bands Total2005-06211372006-07214552007-08113592008-0916282009-1018352010-1118382011-1218402012-1319562013-1411181  Part C: Estimated Percentage of SDLT returns under £125,000 for Esher and Walton Constituency and Government Office Region for years 2005-06 to 2013-14 This data represents estimates that have been produced for this Parliamentary Question. Data for individual areas given to the nearest percentage point.  YearEsher and WaltonLondonSouth EastEngland2005-0610%23%25%42%2006-078%20%21%36%2007-0810%20%20%34%2008-0911%25%25%40%2009-108%17%20%35%2010-118%15%18%32%2011-128%13%18%32%2012-137%14%17%33%2013-147%12%15%30%

Russia

Simon Kirby: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the effect of sanctions against the Russian Federation on the UK economy; and if he will make a statement.

Andrea Leadsom: The sanctions have been designed to have the maximum impact on the actions of the Russian leadership while minimising the impact on the UK and EU. There will be a cost to the EU's economy, but there is a greater cost involved in not standing up to Russia's aggression. The Government has been clear that any pain as a result of economic sanctions should be shared equally across the EU. Due to the recent nature of the implementation of the sanctions Treasury officials are still in the process of analysing the initial data; it is a work in progress and not yet ready for public use.

Venture Capital

Chi Onwurah: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to promote investment in venture capital trusts.

Mr David Gauke: The venture capital trust (VCT) regime was significantly expanded at Budget 2012. VCTs can now invest up to £5 million a year into each qualifying company, and larger companies (with up to 250 employees and £15 million of gross assets) can benefit from the investments.   The government believes that the VCT regime, alongside the other tax-advantaged venture capital schemes, plays a key role in facilitating access to finance for smaller businesses with growth potential. At Budget 2014 the government announced that changes would be made to enable investors to subscribe for VCT shares via nominees, to facilitate a wider range of opportunities to invest in VCTs. The government has also recently consulted on the impact of the recent expansions to the venture capital schemes and is committed to ensuring that the schemes continue to work effectively.

Russia

Andrew Rosindell: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many Russian nationals have had assets frozen by the UK in the last five years.

Andrea Leadsom: The consolidated list of financial sanctions targets is published by HM Treasury at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/financial-sanctions-consolidated-list-of-targets.   Nationality information is not available.

School Milk

Mr Adrian Sanders: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the potential monetary gain to the UK of claiming available subsidies under the EU School Milk Scheme.

Mr Adrian Sanders: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the review of the Nursery Milk Scheme, what assessment officials of his Department have made of the potential effect of claiming subsidies for school milk under the EU School Milk Scheme on the UK's EU rebate.

Mr David Gauke: The size of the proposed budget for the EU School Milk Scheme is €80 million per year. The exact Member State allocations have yet to be finalised.   The net monetary impact on the UK and the impact on the UK's rebate from the EU budget of claiming subsidies for school milk under the scheme will depend on both the actual take-up by Member States of available funds and other technical factors that determine the UK's contributions to the EU budget.   For any given level of EU expenditure under this scheme, the marginal impact of every €1 drawn down by the UK would be a reduction in the UK rebate by approximately two thirds of this figure.

Financial Services

Stephen Gilbert: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department plans to take to encourage long-term and sustainable growth in the finance sector.

Andrea Leadsom: The Government understands the importance of having a growing but stable finance sector. Since the financial crisis the Government has, domestically and with EU and international partners, implemented an unprecedented range of regulatory reforms to improve the safety and resilience of the financial sector. The Government will continue to promote long-term and sustainable growth domestically and with EU and international partners, including in the finance sector. In addition, the Government will continue efforts through the Financial Services Trade and Investment Board, a strategic body chaired by HM Treasury, to attract inward investment, promote external trade and encourage the growth of the UK’s financial services sector.

Debts

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the total household debt was in the UK on 1 April 2014.

Andrea Leadsom: According to the latest figures published by the Office for National Statistics, the UK’s total household debt was £1,671 billion in the second quarter of 2014.  These figures are available here: http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/naa1-rd/united-kingdom-economic-accounts/index.html

Inheritance Tax

Dr William McCrea: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to permit parents to leave more of their own money to their children.

Mr David Gauke: The Government has already taken steps to make it easier for parents to pass on more of their money to their children when the die.   From April 2015, individuals will be able to pass on their unused defined contribution pension to any nominated beneficiary when they die, rather than paying the 55% tax charge on inherited pensions which currently applies   If the individual dies before they reach the age of 75, the beneficiary will be able to access the funds completely tax free at any age. If the individual dies after they reach the age of 75, the beneficiary will be able to access the funds, at any age, subject their marginal rate of income tax. There will also be an option to receive the pension as a lump sum payment, subject to a tax charge of 45%.   These changes will be legislated for in the Taxation of Pensions Bill currently passing through the House.

Self-employed

Dr William McCrea: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what proportion of self employed people are earning less than the personal allowance of £10,000.

Mr David Gauke: Estimates for the number of self employed people earning less than the personal allowance of £10,000 for 2014-15 are not available. The latest year for which estimates are available is 2011-12, where it is estimated that 1.94m (35%) of individuals with self employment income have total taxable income below the personal allowance of £7,475 for that tax year. These estimates are derived from table 3.6 and table 3.10 of the following publication, based on Survey of Personal Incomes (SPI) data for 2011-12. . https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/personal-incomes-statistics-tables-31-to-311-for-the-tax-year-2011-to-2012

Welfare Tax Credits

Stephen Doughty: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what reports he has received of problems experienced by hon. Members using the dedicated MP tax credit hotline; and if he will make a statement.

Mr David Gauke: HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) acknowledges that there have been some recent telephony issues which have affected the service provided via their dedicated MP Hotline. HMRC have taken steps to resolve the issue and the MP Hotline facility is now fully operational.

Income Tax: Scotland

Margaret Curran: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the Pensions Technical Group and Income Tax Technical Group established to examine issues arising from the introduction of a Scottish rate of income tax have completed their work.

Mr David Gauke: The advisory groups set up by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) to examine issues from the introduction of the Scottish rate of income tax have completed their work. The Government’s proposals for the detailed consequential changes needed to implement the Scottish Rate of Income Tax were set out in the Technical Note published by HMRC in May 2012. In December 2013 HMRC announced arrangements to ensure that from 2016 Scottish taxpayers will receive the appropriate tax relief on their pension contributions to relief at source schemes.

Taxation: Scotland

Margaret Curran: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many requests the Scottish Government has made using the powers of Part 3 of the Scotland Act 2012 for the addition of new devolved taxes.

Mr David Gauke: The Scottish Government has not made any requests to create new devolved taxes under this power.

Income Tax: Scotland

Margaret Curran: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many officials in his Department are working on the Scottish rate of income tax project.

Mr David Gauke: I refer the hon member to the answer that I gave her on 13 June 2013 (OR,WA, COL: 390W).  http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201314/cmhansrd/cm130613/text/130613w0001.htm#13061354000143

Department for Energy and Climate Change

Carbon Sequestration

Mr Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what progress he has made on development and use of carbon capture and storage systems since 2010; and when he expects the first use of such a system in a UK power station.

Matthew Hancock: The first commercial scale Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) plants in the UK are being brought forward through the Government’s CCS Commercialisation Programme, which was launched in 2012. The Government has set aside £1 billion to support the first CCS projects in the UK, and is investing around £100m now to take two innovative projects forward into the detailed engineering and design stage known as FEED (Front End Engineering and Design).FEED studies for the White Rose project in Yorkshire and Peterhead project in Aberdeenshire are progressing well. The companies involved are anticipated to take investment decisions in late 2015, with Government taking decisions shortly after. We expect projects to begin construction and then operation as soon as possible after investment decisions have been taken, and the necessary consents and financing are in place.

Fossil Fuels

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what the Government's policy is on stranded assets in the fossil fuel sector; and if he will make a statement.

Matthew Hancock: There are established processes through which potential risks from stranded assets in the fossil fuels sector are managed.As recently as 8 July 2014 the Governor of the Bank of England wrote to the Chair of the Environmental Audit Committee on this issue saying that the Bank monitors risks to financial stability associated with a ‘carbon bubble’ through its regular gathering of information on financial stability risks.Furthermore companies are requested, through the Companies Act 2006, to report on their principal risks as part of their annual report & accounts. In the case of listed companies, the company must include, to the extent necessary to understand the business, the main trends and factors likely to affect the future development, performance and position of the company’s business.

Fossil Fuels

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what estimate he has made of the proportion of existing global fossil fuel reserves that can be burned in order to achieve Government's international policy of limiting global temperature rises to below two degrees Celsius; and if he will make a statement.

Amber Rudd: In 2013 the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) estimated that, if we are more likely than not to limit global average temperature rise to 2°C, the remaining permissible carbon emissions are 305 billion tonnes of carbon for the period 2011 to 2100, taking into account both CO2 and non-CO2 forcing factors. Carbon within existing proven reserves of conventional and unconventional coal, oil, and gas were estimated by the IPCC in 2011 to be 1,053 billion tonnes.Burning a greater proportion of fossil fuel reserves could be consistent with the 2°C goal if there was significant future global uptake of carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies, to markedly reduce carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuel plants at source. The Government’s CCS programme aims to bring forward this technology at a commercial scale in the UK.

Hinkley Point C Power Station

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what the title is of each document provided to the European Commission on the Application for State Aid provisions for the Hinkley Point C nuclear power plant since December 2013; and if he will publish all such documents on his Department's website.

Matthew Hancock: As a matter of policy the UK Government does not publish its correspondence with the European Commission in relation to State aid. In addition, it would not be appropriate to publish all the documents because they contain commercially confidential information.The European Commission announced its decision in relation to the Hinkley Point C State aid case on 8 October 2014:http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-14-1093_en.htm

Cabinet Office

Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012

Chris White: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if his Department will update the report entitled Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012 - one year on to reflect progress since that publication.

Mr Rob Wilson: On 26 September, the Cabinet Office announced that Lord Young, the Prime Minister’s Adviser on Enterprise, will lead a review of the Public Service (Social Value) Act 2012. The review will look at how the Act is working on the ground and consider whether it would be beneficial to extend it. The review will consider evidence from a range of sources and report on findings in early 2015.

Charities

Kate Green: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with how many charities the Charity Commission has engaged on a regulatory issue in (a) 2010, (b) 2011, (c) 2012, (d) 2013 and (e) 2014 to date; and in how many of those cases the Charity Commission made a public statement.

Mr Rob Wilson: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the Charity Commission. I have asked the Commission's chief executive to reply. 



Charity Commission Letter to Member - Charities
(PDF Document, 122.08 KB)

Childbirth

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the rate of survival was for babies born prematurely in each of the last 10 years.

Mr Rob Wilson: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply. 



ONS Letter to Member - Babies born prematurely
(PDF Document, 346.05 KB)

Public Appointments

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many (a) men, (b) women, (c) people of an ethnic minority and (d) disabled candidates have been appointed to the boards of public bodies in each of the last five years.

Mr Francis Maude: The Commissioner for Public Appointments publishes statistics annually. The latest figures for 2013-14 can be found at http://publicappointmentscommissioner.independent.gov.ukSince 2013, the Government has published details on the gender of public appointments at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/diversity-in-public-appointments

Cancer

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the mortality rate from cancer has been in (a) Ashfield constituency, (b) Nottinghamshire and (c) the East Midlands in each of the last 15 years.

Mr Rob Wilson: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply. 



ONS Letter to Member - Mortality Rate
(PDF Document, 279.18 KB)

Breast Cancer

Mr Virendra Sharma: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many people in Ealing, Southall constituency have been diagnosed with secondary breast cancer in the last five years; and how many such people have been referred to palliative care.

Mr Rob Wilson: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply. 



ONS Letter to Member - Secondary Breast Cancer
(PDF Document, 108.71 KB)

Housing: Older People

Mr Stewart Jackson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many people aged over (a) 65, (b) 70, (c) 75 and (e) 80 are living alone in (i) England, (ii) the East of England and (iii) Peterborough constituency.

Mr Rob Wilson: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply. 



ONS Letter to Member - Living Alone
(PDF Document, 103.77 KB)

Department for Culture Media and Sport

Museums and Galleries: Pensions

Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what estimate he has made of the cost to museums funded by his Department of pension responsibilities transfer to those museums; and how many (a) museums and (b) staff that transfer will affect.

Mr Edward Vaizey: No estimate has been made of the cost to museums of the change in employer contribution rates. However, the estimated average employer contribution rate will increase from its current level of 18.9% to 21.1% in April 2015. The exact impact on individual museums will vary according to their workforce composition. The table shows the Department’s sponsored museums which offer the Principal Civil Service Pension Scheme, and the total numbers of staff employed at each of them in 2012-13. A breakdown of the number of staff that are part of the pension scheme is not held centrally. MuseumNumber of Staff(Full-Time Equivalent)British Museum1033Imperial War Museum572National Gallery407National Museums Liverpool521National Portrait Gallery247Natural History Museum822Royal Museums Greenwich478Science Museum Group833Sir John Soane’s Museum44Tate1228Victoria and Albert Museum634Wallace Collection94

Torbay

Mr Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many visits were made by Ministers of his Department to Torbay constituency in the 12 months to 14 October 2014; whom the invitation for each such visit was issued by; and what the cost to the public purse was of each such visit.

Mrs Helen Grant: The Secretary of State visited the Torbay constituency on 17th September 2014. His visit was to Kents Cavern, part of the Geopark in Torbay. The invitation came from the local Conservative candidate for Torbay, Kevin Foster. All travel was provided by the Conservative party with no cost to the public purse.Kevin Foster also passed on an invitation to visit Torbay to the previous Secretary of State, Maria Miller. This invitation came from the Torbay Tourism Association and was taken up on 5th March 2014. She attended and spoke at a lunch event hosted by the Torbay Tourism Association marking their Annual Open Day/Exhibition. The minister took the train from Paddington to Exeter St David’s and returned via the same route. The cost of three return tickets (including officials) was £192.75, so £64.25 per person. The minister was driven to Torbay from Exeter at no cost to public purse.In both these cases, the Secretaries of State were driven by Kevin Foster, with the costs borne directly by him.

Football

Jesse Norman: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the oral contribution from the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport of 4 September 2014, Official Report, columns 520-2, on non-league football, what discussions he has had with the Football Association on strengthening the owners and directors test.

Mrs Helen Grant: I meet regularly with the Football Association to discuss a range of issues, including football governance, and the efficacy of the Owners’ and Directors’ Test.

Hereford United Football Club

Jesse Norman: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the oral contribution from the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport of 4 September 2014, Official Report, columns 520-2, on non-league football, what discussions his Department has had with the Football Association (FA) on the possible contravention of FA rules and regulations by Hereford United Football Club and the Southern League; and if he will make a statement.

Mrs Helen Grant: I meet regularly with the Football Association to discuss a range of issues, including football governance.

Department of Health

Incontinence: Medical Equipment

Mr Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will make an assessment of the difficulties created by users of continence products by the practices from wholesalers and the introduction of off script supply and formularies.

George Freeman: Under the current legislative framework, continence products are supplied by pharmaceutical services providers, including pharmacists, dispensing appliance contractors and dispensing doctors in response to a National Health Service prescription. Part IX of the Drug Tariff sets out the products that general practitioners can prescribe on an NHS prescription in primary care. If there are local arrangements outside of these national arrangements, it would be for local commissioners as part of their commissioning process to assess the suitability of these arrangements.

General Practitioners

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the average pay for a GP working in the NHS was in each of the last 10 years.

Dr Daniel Poulter: The requested information is contained in the attached tables. When interpreting the figures, it is important to note that the nature of general practitioner (GP) contracts and their work has changed over time. Since the start of the new General Medical Services (GMS) contract in 2004-05, there have been some major changes to income, work streams and investment in general practice which is not directly comparable to previous years. The time series tables are presented in cash terms for contractor and salaried GPs under a GMS or Personal Medical Service (PMS) contract. The data covers earnings, expenses and income from both National Health Service and private sources where a GP has at least some NHS earnings.



Average Pay for GPs
(Word Document, 17.88 KB)

Health Services: Foreign Nationals

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, which NHS trusts (a) employ and (b) do not employ an Overseas Visitor Manager.

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to ensure that every NHS trust employs an Overseas Visitor Manager.

Jane Ellison: The information on National Health Service trusts who employ or do not employ an Overseas Visitor Manager is not held centrally.   In its guidance to the NHS, the Department strongly recommends that relevant NHS bodies have a designated person/s to oversee the implementation of the Charging Regulations. This person may or may not hold the title of ‘Overseas Visitors Manager.’ However, NHS trusts are responsible for recruiting their own workforce and the decision as to whether to employ a designated Overseas Visitor Manager rests with them.

Health Services: Foreign Nationals

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to ensure that those patients referred by a GP to a hospital for treatment who are not eligible for free secondary care are identified and appropriately charged.

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to ensure that patients who should be charged for care are correctly identified.

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will make it his policy to prevent free access to GP services for people in the UK (a) illegally and (b) temporarily on visitor visas.

Dr Daniel Poulter: The Department is working to develop and implement a comprehensive package of measures to support the National Health Service to correctly identify patients who should be charged for their healthcare.   We have worked to encourage better communication between secondary care providers and general practitioners (GPs) once a chargeable patient has been identified. A toolbox for NHS Overseas Visitor Managers was published online in September 2014 that provided support materials on charging. This also includes template letters to enable providers to notify GPs if one of their patients is deemed chargeable.   The NHS cost recovery programme is also focusing on engagement with GPs and primary care providers to help them understand the charging rules. We will also encourage better dialogue between primary and secondary care providers to ensure a process of early identification and appropriate charging.   The Cost Recovery Team’s Implementation Plan (published July 2014) identified several strategies for cost recovery from European Economic Area (EEA) member states and non-EEA chargeable patients, which include: - The EEA incentive – launched on 1 October 2014 - The non-EEA incentive and sanction – expected to go live in April 2015 - The non-EEA health surcharge - expected to go live in April 2015.   As outlined in the Government’s response to the public consultation (published December 2013), in the interest of public health, the Department has no intention of making GP and nurse consultations in primary care chargeable for patients who would not otherwise be eligible for free NHS treatment. This includes people who are illegally here in the United Kingdom or on temporary visitor visas.

NHS: Temporary Employment

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much the NHS has spent on agency (a) nurses, (b) midwives and (c) physiotherapists in 2014 to date.

Dr Daniel Poulter: The Department does not collect information on how much the National Health Service has spent on specific staff groups such as agency nurses, midwives and physiotherapists. In the Department of Health Annual Report and Accounts, we publish, for the financial year, how much each type of NHS organisation has spent on temporary and agency staff.

Obesity: Children

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many children under the age of 16, were diagnosed as clinically obese in 2013.

Jane Ellison: Approximately 1.2 million children aged 2-15 were classified as obese using population monitoring thresholds in England in 2012.

Exercise

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the proportion of the population of (a) England and Wales and (b) Havering which is not getting the recommended amount of exercise per week.

Jane Ellison: The Health Survey for England 2012, shows that in England 33% of men and 45% of women (aged 16 and over) are not meeting the Chief Medical Officers’ (CMOs) guidelines for physical activity for adults. This survey also shows that for Boys and Girls aged 5-15 years 79% and 84% respectively are not meeting the physical activity guidelines for this age group of at least 60 minutes per day. Data for Wales is a matter for the Welsh Government.   The Active People Survey (2012), shows 34% of adults (aged 16 and over) in Havering are not achieving the CMOs guidelines for physical activity.

Mental Illness

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to promote awareness of the warning signs of mental illness.

Norman Lamb: Our cross-government mental health outcomes strategy, No Health Without Mental Health, published 2011, takes a life course approach, recognising that the foundations for lifelong well-being are already being laid down before birth, and there is much we can do to protect and promote wellbeing and resilience through the early years, into adulthood and on into a healthy old age.   Our mental health action plan, Closing the Gap: Priorities for essential change in mental health, makes it clear that early identification and where necessary intervention can make a massive difference.   We have invested £54 million over the years 2011-12 to 2014-15 in the Children and Young People’s Improving Access to Psychological Therapies programme, this offers training to services in several different evidence based therapies which aim to help children and young people deal with negative thoughts and feelings and make positive changes. They can help children and young people who are feeling distressed by difficult events in their lives as well as those with a mental health problem. Among the evidence based therapies offered is Parental Therapy for conduct disorders in 3-10 year olds.   We launched the MindEd e-portal, www.minded.org.uk, in March this year to support staff working in schools to identify the mental health and well-being needs of children and young people.   The Department is working collaboratively with the Department for Education to raise awareness of mental health in schools and in teacher training. Schools are working to promote resilience in children and provide counselling in-house and through working with local mental health trusts in some places.   The Department for Education’s Mental Health and Behaviour in Schools, Departmental advice for school staff, published in June provided advice for schools including practical advice on supporting children with emotional and behavioural difficulties; strengthening pupil resilience; and tools to identify pupils likely to need extra support; where/how to access community support and how and when to refer to Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services.   The recently established Children and Young People’s Mental Health and Well-Being Taskforce will be looking at ways to further improve early intervention and the resilience of children. The Taskforce membership includes headteachers. The Taskforce will report to Ministers in February 2015.   Our new five-year plan for mental health, Achieving Better Access to Mental Health Services by 2020, sets out our ambition and the immediate actions we will take this year and next to achieve better access and waiting times in mental health services.   We have identified £40 million additional spending to kick start change in the current year. This includes an investment of £33 million to support people in mental health crisis, and to boost early intervention services, that help some of the most vulnerable young people in the country to get well and stay well.

Cancer

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department takes to ensure that patients receiving cancer care also have access to necessary mental health counselling.

Norman Lamb: There is no specific pathway for cancer patients with mental health issues. Many cancer patients will complete their primary treatment and return, more or less, to the same level of health and wellbeing that they enjoyed before their diagnosis. However, we now know a significant proportion will experience a wide range of distressing problems, including psychological and social consequences. Thanks to recent research, and the views and experiences of patients, our understanding of the consequences of cancer treatment and their impact has improved dramatically.   The Macmillan Cancer Support document ‘Throwing light on the consequences of cancer and its treatment’ highlights this well. This increase in understanding led to the management of psychosocial issues and other consequences of treatment being a major priority of the National Cancer Survivorship Initiative (NCSI).   In March 2013, NCSI published ‘Living with and beyond cancer: Taking Actions to Improve Outcomes’. This document informs the direction of survivorship work in England to 2015 and is intended to support commissioners, providers and others to take the actions necessary to drive improved survivorship outcomes. It sets out what we have learnt about survivorship, including people’s needs, their experience of care, and the impact cancer and treatment has upon their lives. It describes interventions that have been tested, and are already spreading across England to improve survivors’ outcomes.   Finally, we have enshrined in law the equal importance of mental health, alongside physical health. The Health and Social Care Act 2012 sets out the equal status of mental and physical health. As such, the Mandate to NHS England makes it clear that everyone should have timely access to the mental health services that they need.   Over the course of the current spending review, we are investing in excess of £400 million to give hundreds of thousands of people access to National Institute for Health and Care Excellence-approved psychological therapies. We are also increasing the availability of services to cover children and young people and exploring extending services to people with long-term physical health problems and those with severe mental illness.

Ebola

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions has he had with his European counterparts on the threat of Ebola to Europe.

Jane Ellison: My Rt. Hon. Friend the Secretary of State and his ministerial colleagues are involved in ongoing engagement with their European counterparts. I attended a health ministers meeting on Ebola in Brussels on 16 October, to discuss increasing European precautions against the Ebola outbreak, and was involved in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s pledging conference ‘Defeating Ebola in Sierra Leone’ (which took place in London on 2 October), which brought together Ministers and officials from Europe and the rest of the world.   In addition, the Secretary of State’s senior officials have been fully engaged in the international effort against Ebola and are regularly in discussion and bilateral conversations with their European counterparts at all levels, particularly through the Eropean Union Health Security Committee.

Bone Marrow Disorders: Donors

Mr Nicholas Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent steps he has taken to increase public awareness of bone marrow donation.

Jane Ellison: NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) responsible for the supply of blood, organs, tissues and stem cells and manages the British Bone Marrow Registry (BBMR) and the NHS Cord Blood Bank. NHS BT and provides specialist services related to the provision of stem cells which can turn into blood cells for the treatment of blood cancers. NHSBT recruits stem cell donors to the BBMR exclusively from the pool of active blood donors (aged 17 years and above), and undertakes awareness raising activity.

Hospitals: Food

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department takes to monitor the quality of food supplied at hospitals.

Dr Daniel Poulter: Hospitals have a responsibility to provide high quality food and drink that meets each patient’s needs. The Department introduced Patient-Led Assessments of the Care Environment (PLACE) in April 2013 to assess the quality of the patient environment, including hospital food. PLACE is a voluntary process which takes place annually, and applies to hospitals, hospices and day treatment centres providing National Health Service funded care. PLACE is now the responsibility of NHS England.   The results of the 2014 PLACE were published on the Health and Social Care Information Centre’s website on 27 August 2014. This data is available at the following link:   http://hefs.hscic.gov.uk/PLACE.asp   Selected hospital food data from the latest PLACE results has also been published on the NHS Choices website. Patients are able to see how hospital food is rated for quality and choice at their local hospital. This data is available at the following link:   http://www.nhs.uk/NHSEngland/AboutNHSservices/NHShospitals/Pages/hospital-food-standards.aspx

Ebola

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent estimate he has made of the number of registered cases of Ebola within Europe.

Jane Ellison: There have only been a small number of Ebola cases within Europe. The importation risk of Ebola in Europe remains low.

Mental Health Services

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what part his Department plays in the Government's No Health without Mental Health strategy.

Norman Lamb: The Department designed and developed the mental health strategy, No Health Without Mental Health, published February 2011, which sets out this Government’s overall ambition for mental health.   We legislated for parity of esteem by enshrining in law the equal status of mental and physical health through the Health and Social Care Act 2012.   The Department holds NHS England to account for the quality of mental health services, through the Government’s Mandate to NHS England and measures outcomes for mental health patients through the NHS, Public Health and Adult Social Care Outcomes Frameworks.   As steward of the system, the Department works with its partners to achieve the objectives set out in No Health Without Mental Health.   Early in 2014, we published Closing the gap: priorities for essential change which set out the areas where urgent action was most needed. Progress has already been made in a number of areas:   The Government has ended the unjust exclusion of mental health from the right of choice in the National Health Service.Over 2.4 million people have entered treatment under the Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) programme, and over 1.4 million have completed treatment.£54 million invested over the period 2011-2015/16 in the children and young people’s IAPT programme to transform child and adolescent mental health services.The Mental Health Crisis Care Concordat, signed by more than 20 national organisations, was published in February 2014.   Our recently published five-year plan, Achieving Better Access to Mental Health Services by 2020, sets out action the government is taking to provide better access to mental health services within the next year, including the first ever national waiting times for mental health services. It also sets out its vision for further progress by 2020.   £40 million in additional funding has been identified to enable change in the current financial year, and a further £80 million will be freed up for 2015-16 to support implementation of waiting times in mental health services.

Foetal Alcohol Syndrome

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of current commissioning arrangements for treating foetal alcohol syndrome and foetal alcohol spectrum disorder; and if he will assess the merits of establishing a national service commissioned by NHS England for those conditions.

Jane Ellison: The Health and Social Care Act 2012 sets out criteria for nationally commissioned services that National Health Service England and the NHS Commissioning Board need to consider when commissioning specialised services. Services for the treatment of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder do not fall within these. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence Antenatal Care guideline includes recommendations for doctors and midwives on the advice they should give to pregnant women about drinking alcohol, and we would expect that Clinical Commissioning Groups have regard to their guidelines when commissioning services.

Congenital Abnormalities: Screening

Fiona Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many women (a) accepted or (b) refused foetal anomaly screening in each of the last five years for which records are available.

Dr Daniel Poulter: The NHS Fetal Anomaly Screening Programme offers screening to all pregnant women in England to assess the risk of the baby being born with Down’s syndrome or a number of fetal anomalies (structural abnormalities with how the fetus has developed). There is no current systematic collation of data at a national level of the uptake of screening for either Down’s syndrome or the 18+0-20+6 week (18-21 week) fetal anomaly scan. The Down’s syndrome screening quality support service (DQASS) can provide data on the number of completed screening test that were undertaken for Down’s syndrome in the last five years and these are presented in the following table. YearFirst trimester testsSecond trimester testsIntegratedtestsTotal2008120,122185,6067,049312,7772009212,331219,9178,550440,7982010271,977191,5163,616467,1092011441,355120,0943,996565,4452012455,995100,3713,796560,1622013468,17289,9592,892561,023

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to improve access to diagnosis and treatment for people with myalgic encephalomyelitis.

Norman Lamb: In 2007 the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) produced the clinical guidance, ‘Chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis (or encephalopathy): Diagnosis and management of CFS/ME in adults and children’. This guidance set out best practice on the diagnosis, treatment care and support of children and adults with CFS/ME. Information on CFS/ME diagnosis and treatment can also be accessed via the NHS Evidence and NICE Clinical Knowledge summaries websites.

Abortion

Fiona Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what his policy is on reporting to the police for investigation evidence of incomplete abortion notification (HSA4) forms held by his Department; and what his policy is on the period of time that may elapse between receiving an incomplete HSA4 form and the full completion of that form before referring both the form and the registered medical practitioner to the relevant authorities in accordance with section 2(3) of the Abortion Act 1967.

Jane Ellison: Incorrect or incomplete HSA4 abortion notification forms are returned to the terminating practitioner until such information is corrected or completed.   The Department issued guidance in May this year to help clinicians comply with the requirements of the Abortion Act, including their obligations with regard to the notification and completion of HSA4 forms.

Mental Health Services: High Peak

Andrew Bingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people in High Peak constituency have had to wait more than (a) 28 days, (b) three months and (c) six months for Improving Access to Psychological Therapies services in each of the last five years.

Norman Lamb: Information is not available in the format requested.   This Government is committed to ensuring mental health is treated equally with physical health and is increasing access to mental health services through the Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) programme and talking therapies.   Information on the number of patients waiting more than 28 days in 2011-12 and 2012-13 in each quarter for Derbyshire County Primary Care Trust (PCT) and Tameside and Glossop PCT is shown in Table 1.   The information for the number of patients waiting more than; 28 days, 90 days and 180 days in 2013-14 for NHS North Derbyshire clinical commissioning group (CCG) and NHS Tameside and Glossop CCG is shown in Table 2. 



High Peak- Patients waiting for IAPT services
(Word Document, 18.13 KB)

Oesophageal Cancer

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to raise awareness of the symptoms of oesophageal cancer.

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to (a) tackle the incidence of and (b) improve the outcomes for people with Barrett's oesophagus and oesophageal cancer.

Jane Ellison: We are fully committed to improving early diagnosis and treatment of people with oesophageal cancer both nationally and locally. Alongside supporting Public Health England to increase symptom awareness amongst the general population, NHS England are also working to increase cancer symptom awareness amongst healthcare professionals, and to provide support to general practitioners in early diagnosis of cancer and pre-cancerous conditions.   NHS England’s oesophageal and gastric cancer service specification clearly defines what it expects to be in place for providers to offer evidence-based, safe and effective oesophageal cancer services, in line with the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s clinical guideline, published in 2001, Improving Outcomes for Upper Gastro-Intestinal Cancers.   Public Health England will run a national Be Clear on Cancer campaign from 26 January to the end of February 2015 aimed at men and women aged 50 years and over, to raise awareness of oesophageal and stomach cancers. This campaign will also aim to identify patients with Barrett’s oesophagus, a possible or potential precursor to oesophageal cancer. Campaign plans are still to be finalised but are likely to include television, radio, press, digital and out of home advertising.   The decision to run this campaign was based on the evidence of significant impact from the regional campaign which ran in the Northern England Strategic Clinical Network region from February to March 2014.

Midwives

Andrew Bingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many registered midwives were employed per 1,000 births in (a) 1980, (b) 1990, (c) 2000, (d) 2010 and (e) the latest year for which figures are available.

Dr Daniel Poulter: There are now 1,158 additional whole time equivalent registered midwives compared to 2010. The following table shows the number of registered midwives per 1,000 births for each of the years requested.   Number of registered midwives per 1,000 births in England as at 30 September for each specified year1980[1]1990200022010220132  Registered midwives per 1,000 births21.029.730.729.131.9   Source: Health and Social Care Information Centre   Notes: 1 Prior to 1982, midwife data is taken from the Health and Personal Social Services Statistics for England (HPSSS). Data from HPSSS contains hospital-based staff only and is therefore not comparable with later years.   2 A new system of occupation coding for NHS non-medical staff was introduced in 1995. The new codes classified staff according to what they do rather than the terms and conditions under which they are employed. Figures based on new occupation codes are not directly comparable with those based on the old payscale classification, therefore figures since 1995 are not directly comparable with earlier years.   3 Figures are calculated on the numbers of all still and live births in England for each specified year.   4 Figures are calculated on the full time equivalent number of registered midwives. Midwife data is as at 30 September each year.   5 Figures are rounded to one decimal place.   6 These statistics relate to the contracted positions within English NHS organisations and may include those where the person assigned to the position is temporarily absent, for example on maternity leave.

Influenza: Vaccination

Mr David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when his Department last changed its guidance on access to inoculation for influenza; and if he will make a statement.

Jane Ellison: In July 2012, the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) which advises the Government on all immunisation matters recommended extending the national flu programme to all children from the age of two to less than 17 years.   This extension began in 2013-14 with all two and three year olds being offered vaccination through GP surgeries, and 5-11 year old children in seven areas being offered vaccination through pilot programmes. The extension programme for children will be phased in over a number of years.   A number of key groups remain eligible for flu vaccination under the annual national flu immunisation programme. Information on who is eligible for the flu vaccination is contained in the Flu Plan: Winter 2014/15. This is available on the GOV.UK website at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/annual-flu-programme. A copy has been attached.   



Flu Plan Winter 2014-15
(PDF Document, 379.59 KB)

NHS Walk-in Centres

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to increase the number of walk-in centres.

Jane Ellison: Since 2007, the local National Health Service has been responsible for NHS walk-in-centres. It is for local clinical commissioners to determine the pattern of local services and where walk-in-centres fit within this.

Accident and Emergency Departments

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent steps he has taken to reduce hospital accident and emergency waiting times.

Jane Ellison: Accident and emergency departments are measured against a standard that at least 95% of patients should be admitted, transferred or discharged within four hours of arrival. In the face of rising demand, this standard was met in the first quarter (April to June) of 2014-15, with performance at 95.1%, but narrowly missed in the second quarter (July to September) with performance at 94.98% An additional £400 million funding has been made available to ensure local urgent and emergency care services are sustainable and ready for the pressures of winter. A range of other steps will relieve demand on accident and emergency departments by improving access to services outside of hospitals and improving the flow of patients through and out of hospitals. These include extending opening hours for general practice, a £3.8 billion Better Care fund for the National Health Service and local authorities to invest in joined up health and social services from April 2015, the NHS 111 service signposting people to primary and community settings where appropriate, the ambulance service resolving more calls without taking people to accident and emergency departments, and increasing accident and emergency workforce capacity. In the longer term, a review of urgent and emergency care services is looking at the way the NHS responds to and receives emergency patients to hospital, to ensure a sustainable system for the future.

In Vitro Fertilisation

Fiona Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when he plans to lay before the House regulations permitting mitochondrial replacement techniques.

Jane Ellison: Following the publication on 22 July of the Government’s response to the consultation about the draft regulations to allow mitochondrial donation, the Government has been giving further consideration to the recommendations of the Expert Panel convened by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA), refining the draft regulations to take account of changes identified during the consultation, and discussing with the HFEA an appropriate approval process.   Ministers will update Parliament on the Government’s intentions shortly.

Torbay

Mr Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many visits were made by Ministers of his Department to Torbay constituency in the 12 months to 14 October 2014; whom the invitation for each such visit was issued by; and what the cost to the public purse was of each such visit.

Dr Daniel Poulter: The following visits were made to the Torbay Borough Constituency in the year since 14 October 2013 alongside the direct cost of the minister’s attendance at the visit:   Date Minister Visit Location Cost   14 November 2013 Earl Howe Watcombe Children's Centre* -   15 November 2013 Earl Howe Torbay and Paignton Hospitals, £201.14 Torbay*   * These were a series of visits which were organised to coincide with the minister attending a meeting in the South-West region; therefore we have provided an overall cost of the three visits.   Invitations to undertake visits can come from a multiple range of sources and organisations or can be organised proactively as a result of Ministers being made aware of best practice and wanting to familiarise him/herself with it in more detail.

School Milk

Mr Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of the introduction of a central contract for the Nursery Milk Scheme on the viability of the supply of school milk to over-fives.

Mr Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of the introduction of a central contract for the Nursery Milk Scheme on the price of school milk supplied to over-fives.

Mr Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions officials of his Department have had on the supply of school milk to over-fives as part of the potential tendering process for a central contract for the Nursery Milk Scheme.

Dr Daniel Poulter: The Nursery Milk Scheme supplies nursery milk to over 48,000 settings annually including local authority and private nurseries and independent child-minders. A small minority of these settings also receive deliveries of school milk.   Proposals for modernising the nursery Milk Scheme were consulted upon by the Department of Health in 2012 and the Government response, published in March this year, set out plans for procurement of a direct supply Nursery Milk Scheme.   Plans for implementing the modernised Nursery Milk Scheme have been put together, discussed, and assessed between Government officials via a cross Government Nursery Milk Scheme Task and Finish Group which includes representatives from Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, who are responsible for the School Milk Scheme .   The Department has also held six separate supplier days as part of putting together the invitation to tender documents for the modernised Nursery Milk Scheme. These presented an opportunity for officials to discuss proposals for the Scheme with companies from the dairy and milk delivery sectors. These discussions included open forum question and answer sessions between company representatives and officials from the Department of Health and, also, one to one sessions between individual companies and Departmental officials. Some of these discussions included references to milk deliveries for the over 5s School milk scheme.   The specific issue of School milk deliveries to the over 5s was also mentioned in discussions between Departmental officials and a group of key market representatives invited to a meeting organised by Dairy UK in April 2014.

Sugar

Ian Paisley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he has taken to educate young people on sugar intake and moderating sugar consumption to maintain a healthy lifestyle.

Jane Ellison: Public Health England (PHE) runs the Government’s flagship social marketing campaign, Change4Life which helps families to eat well, move more and live longer. It has recently run a series of campaigns which have included or focused on sugar consumption. This is primarily focused at the parents of children aged 5-11.   In January 2013, the Change4Life Be Food Smart campaign raised awareness of the amount of sugar in sugary drinks. Then in January 2014, the Change4Life Smart Swaps campaign encouraged families to choose one small swap to make their everyday diet healthier, such as swapping sugary drinks to “sugar-free”, “diet”, “no-added-sugar” drinks, milk or water.   In summer 2014 Change4Life also ran a digital sugar swaps promotion which included promotion through the Change4Life and NHS Choices websites; e-newsletter to a million families on the Change4Life database; publication of a new downloadable “sugar swaps” leaflet to help parents reduce their children’s sugar intake; social media activity through the Change4Life Twitter account and more than a quarter of a million Change4Life Facebook friends. PHE has also produced a new “sugar swaps” filler radio advertisement which has been aired from the summer.   In January 2015 Change4Life aims to build on the success of the previous Smart Swaps campaign, with a new Sugar Swaps campaign that will encourage and help families make simple swaps to take sugar, out of their diet and make healthier choices.   Change4Life also engages with primary schools to promote physical activity and healthy eating messages.

Cancer: Greater London

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what proportion of cancer patients started treatment within 62 days in (a) London and (b) each London trust in each year since 2010.

Jane Ellison: The information requested is shown in the attached table.



62 Day Wait For First Treatment_All Cancers
(Excel SpreadSheet, 25.73 KB)

Who Framework Convention On Tobacco Control

Grahame M. Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the transparency and accountability of the Moscow Conference of the Parties to the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.

Jane Ellison: The sixth session of the Conference of the Parties to the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) was held in Moscow over 13-18 October 2014. The United Kingdom was represented at the Conference, as were the following Parties to the treaty:   Afghanistan, Algeria, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belarus, Belgium, Benin, Bhutan, Brazil, Brunei Darussalam, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Chad, Chile, China, Colombia, Comoros, Congo, Cook Islands, Costa Rica, Côte d'Ivoire, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Denmark, Djibouti, Ecuador, Egypt, Estonia, Ethiopia, European Union, Finland, France, Gabon, Gambia, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Honduras, Hungary, India, Iran (Islamic Republic of), Iraq, Ireland, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Latvia, Lesotho, Libya, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Madagascar, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Malta, Marshall Islands, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mexico, Micronesia (Federated States of), Mongolia, Montenegro, Namibia, Nepal, Netherlands, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Palau, Panama, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Republic of Korea, Republic of Moldova, Romania, Russian Federation, Samoa, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia, Seychelles, Singapore, Slovakia, Solomon Islands, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Swaziland, Sweden, Syrian Arab Republic, Thailand, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Timor-Leste, Togo, Trinidad and Tobago, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Tuvalu, Uganda, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Republic of Tanzania Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Viet Nam, Yemen and Zambia.   An official report of the proceedings of the Conference will be published in November 2014.   In addition, the next Conference to be held in 2016 will consider options that would further maximise transparency, particularly with regard to Party delegations to Conference of the Parties and subsidiary bodies.

Blood: Contamination

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what mechanisms are in place for claimants of support from the (a) Macfarlane and Eileen Trust, (b) Skipton Fund, (c) Macfarlane Trust, (d) Eileen Trust and (e) Caxton Foundation to make complaints about and seek redress for level of support they receive; and what process those bodies use to decide entitlement to discretionary and non-discretionary support.

Jane Ellison: MFET Ltd and the Skipton Fund make fixed rate payments which are set by Government. If claimants are unhappy with the level of those payments they can write to the Department of Health. The payments policies of the Macfarlane Trust, Eileen Trust and Caxton Foundation are determined by their respective Trustees. People who are unhappy with the level of the payments they receive from any of these bodies can take it up with the relevant body.   To establish eligibility in respect of HIV infection, claimants are required to provide as much relevant information as they have available, which is then considered by the Department. To establish eligibility in respect of hepatitis C infection, a claimant’s hepatologist provides the necessary information for the Skipton Fund. All claims are assessed on the balance of probabilities. People whose claims are rejected by the Skipton Fund can submit an appeal to the independent Appeals Panel. Entry into the system of financial support is through MFET Ltd in respect of HIV infection and the Skipton Fund in respect of hepatitis C infection.   Once a claimant has been approved for payments from MFET Ltd and the Skipton Fund, they are also eligible to apply for discretionary support from the relevant discretionary body (the Macfarlane Trust for haemophiliacs with HIV or HIV and hepatitis C; the Eileen Trust for non-haemophiliacs with HIV or HIV and hepatitis C; the Caxton Foundation for people mono-infected with hepatitis C).

Blood: Contamination

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much his Department has allocated in grants to the (a) Macfarlane and Eileen Trust, (b) Skipton Fund, (c) Macfarlane Trust, (d) Eileen Trust and (e) Caxton Foundation in each year since their inception; whether such funding is allocated at the discretion of his Department; whether the size of those grants in each year is determined on the basis of a formula; what representations his Department has received from each of those organisations in the last four years to the amounts allocated; what entities fund each such body; and what his Department's planned future funding allocations to those bodies are for the next five years.

Jane Ellison: The funding for the system of financial support for people infected with HIV and hepatitis C as a result of treatment with NHS supplied blood or blood products, is at the discretion of the four UK Health Departments. The Department of Health is the sole funder of MFET Ltd, the Macfarlane Trust and the Eileen Trust. All four UK Health Departments provide funding for the Skipton Fund and Caxton Foundation.   A document outlining the grants that have been made to each of the schemes from 1988 to April 2014 is attached. Payments from the Skipton Fund and MFET Ltd are set by the UK Health Departments, and the Department provides sufficient funds to pay all approved claims. The budget allocations for the Macfarlane Trust, the Eileen Trust and the Caxton Foundation are discretionary and take account of what each received in the previous year and the Department’s other funding priorities. In the last four years, the Department has received one business case from Caxton Foundation and one from the Macfarlane Trust for an increase in their allocations. Funding allocations for Macfarlane Trust, the Eileen Trust and the Caxton Foundation for the next five years have not yet been decided. 



Grants made to each scheme from 1988- April 2014
(Excel SpreadSheet, 14.51 KB)

Skipton Fund

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many appeals have been made to the Skipton Fund Appeals Panel in respect of decisions made by that fund; and how many such appeals were decided in favour of (a) the appellant or (b) the Skipton Fund.

Jane Ellison: The Skipton Fund Appeals Panel has considered 412 appeals in respect of decisions made by the Skipton Fund, since the Skipton Fund was established in 2004. 210 appeals were decided in favour of the appellant and 202 were decided in favour of the Skipton Fund.

Blood: Contamination

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people who contracted HIV following treatment with NHS-supplied blood products from the 1970s to the early 1990s have also contracted (a) Stage 1 Hepatitis C and (b) Stage 2 Hepatitis C.

Jane Ellison: Based on data supplied by the Skipton Fund, 707 people who contracted HIV following treatment with NHS-supplied blood or blood products from the 1970s to the early 1990s have also received a stage 1 payment in respect of chronic hepatitis C infection contracted through their NHS treatment. Of these, 306 people have also received a stage 2 hepatitis C payment from the Skipton Fund in respect of their developing cirrhosis, liver cancer, B-Cell Non Hodgkin's Lymphoma or receiving a liver transplant as a result of their Hepatitis C infection contracted through their NHS treatment.

Smoking

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when the Government plans to publish the results of the consultations on regulations on (a) smoking in cars with children present and (b) standardised packaging of tobacco; and when his Department plans to lay these regulations before the House.

Jane Ellison: The consultation Smoking in private vehicles carrying children - consultation on proposed regulations to be made under the Children and Families Act 2014 closed on 27 August 2014. We are now considering all responses carefully and will make a decision on the content of the regulations.   A consultation on the introduction of regulations for standardised packaging of tobacco products closed on 7 August 2014. In line with European Union requirements, the draft regulations must be considered under the European Technical Standards Directive at the stage at which substantial amendments can still be made. The draft regulations were notified to the European Commission (EC) on 29 August.   The notification requires a ‘stand still’ period of three months for the EC and other Member States to consider the content of the draft regulations and give us their opinions. If a detailed opinion is provided, the Government is obliged to extend the period to six months. We anticipate that this will be the case. Under European rules, we will not be able to make the regulations until the period has elapsed.   The Government has not yet made a final decision on whether to introduce regulations to require standardised packaging of tobacco products.   Summary reports on both consultations will be published in due course.

Surgery: Greater London

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many cancelled operations there were in (a) London and (b) each London trust in each year since 2010.

Dr Daniel Poulter: The information requested is shown in the attached table detailing cancelled operations in London by hospital trust since 2010. 



Cancelled Operations in London since 2010
(Excel SpreadSheet, 39 KB)

Plastic Surgery

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to ensure that regulations regarding invasive cosmetic procedures provide the same level of protection as those concerning cosmetic surgery.

Dr Daniel Poulter: On 24 April 2013, the independent Review of the Regulation of Cosmetic Interventions, chaired by Sir Bruce Keogh, was published. A copy has already been placed in the Library. The Government Response to the Review of the Regulation of Cosmetic Interventions was published on 13 February. A copy of the response has already been placed in the Library. We fully accept the principles of the Keogh review and the overwhelming majority of the recommendations. The response looks to protect the public through clear standards, better training and robust qualifications, and explores how far supervision from regulated professionals might support self-regulation of the sector. Officials are working with key delivery partners such as the Royal College of Surgeons who have set up an inter-specialty committee to ensure standards for cosmetic surgery and they are working with the General Medical Council on a code of ethical conduct. Health Education England (HEE) is leading on a review of training and qualifications for providers of non-surgical cosmetic interventions and those required to be responsible prescribers. On 11 September, HEE published a phase 1 report Review of qualifications required for delivery of non-surgical cosmetic interventions. A copy of the report is attached. Work is also underway on a pilot breast implant registry to reassure women that if problems arise they can be contacted, kept informed and called in for treatment if necessary. As part of this programme of work to ensure proper training and oversight of both non-surgical and surgical cosmetic interventions, we are looking at the need for legislation to ensure public protection and will consider bringing forward proposals.   



Non-surgical cosmetic interventions Report
(PDF Document, 491.98 KB)

Influenza: Vaccination

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what happened to the stocks of Tamiflu vaccine bulk-purchased by the NHS.

Dr Daniel Poulter: Tamiflu is not a vaccine but an antiviral drug, which can be used to treat seasonal and pandemic influenza. Antivirals can reduce the length of time that people are ill and reduce the potential for serious complications. During the H1N1 2009 pandemic, antivirals from the stockpile were used to treat those with pandemic influenza. The United Kingdom Government continues to hold a national stockpile of antivirals, including Tamiflu, on behalf of the National Health Service to be used in the event of a pandemic as part of our defence in depth approach to pandemic influenza preparedness. This stockpile is replenished as necessary as stocks reach the end of their shelf-life.

Mental Health Services

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what National Institute for Health and Care Excellence-approved interventions are available through the NHS for the treatment of mental health conditions.

George Freeman: The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has published clinical guidelines on a range of mental health topics, such as depression, anxiety and schizophrenia. Clinical guidelines provide guidance on the treatment of patients across the care pathway and each guideline recommends a number of treatments.  Additionally, the following technologies for the treatment of mental health and behavioural conditions are recommended by NICE technology appraisal guidance: Appraisal NumberYearTechnologyConditionCategorisationTA592003Electroconvulsive therapyCatatonia/ prolonged or severe manic episodeOptimised1TA0982006AtomoxetineAttention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)RecommendedTA0982006DexamfetamineAttention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)RecommendedTA0982006MethylphenidateAttention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)RecommendedTA2132011AripiprazoleSchizophrenia in people aged 15-17 yearsRecommendedTA2172011DonepezilAlzheimer's disease (mild to moderate)RecommendedTA2172011GalantamineAlzheimer's disease (mild to moderate)RecommendedTA2172011RivastigmineAlzheimer's disease (mild to moderate)RecommendedTA2172011MemantineAlzheimer's disease (moderate)OptimisedTA2172011MemantineAlzheimer's disease (severe)RecommendedTA2922013AripiprazoleModerate to severe manic episodes in adolescents with bipolar disorderRecommended   Source: National Institute for Health and Care Excellence   1 The drug or technology is recommended for a smaller subset of patients than originally stated by the marketing authorisation.   Patients have the right to drugs and treatments that have been recommended by NICE technology appraisal guidance for use in the National Health Service, where their doctor believes they are clinically appropriate.   Details of all NICE’s guidance on mental health and behavioural conditions can be found at:   www.nice.org.uk/guidancemenu/conditions-and-diseases/mental-health-and-behavioural-conditions

Ebola

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what evidence his Department holds on the potential efficacy of shikimic acid in tackling the Ebola virus.

Jane Ellison: Shikimic acid has not been used for the treatment of Ebola. The Department and the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency do not have any evidence to suggest its potential efficacy in tackling the Ebola virus.

Health Services

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when he will publish the response to the public consultation on the NHS National Tariff Payment System 2015-16.

Jane Ellison: In accordance with section 118(1) of the Health and Social Care Act 2012, Monitor is required to send a notice of the proposals for the National Tariff to all licensed providers and unlicensed providers who provide NHS healthcare services where there is a proposed national price. These providers may comment on any of the policy proposals that are contained in the consultation notice and, in particular, may object to any method proposed under section 118(3)(b) of the Act.   It is currently Monitor’s intention to release this notice at the end of October. Responses to this consultation will be released along with the final tariff publication.

Alcoholic Drinks

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when the Chief Medical Officer will report on the UK-wide review of all alcohol guidelines.

Jane Ellison: The review is currently underway and we expect to be able to consult on any new guidelines by summer 2015.

Health: Children

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to promote early intervention in improving child health.

Dr Daniel Poulter: The Government promotes early intervention through the Healthy Child Programme, which is the key universal National Health Service programme for the health and wellbeing of children, and Family Nurse Partnerships, a licensed preventive programme which targets vulnerable first time young mothers.

General Practitioners

Graham Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what progress has been made on improving access to GPs.

Dr Daniel Poulter: The Prime Minister’s £50 million Challenge Fund is currently improving general practitioner access for over two million patients across England. This includes offering evening and weekend appointments, as well as better use of technology, such as telehealth, to look after patients. By January, 7.5 million patients will be covered.   And, we have recently announced another £100 million of funding for next year to improve access for even more patients.

Home Care Services

Sheila Gilmore: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will bring forward proposals to facilitate the portability of home-based care packages between local authorities in different countries in the UK.

Norman Lamb: Adults with care and support needs should be able to move between countries within the United Kingdom knowing that their care will continue during the move.   As the care and support systems in the four countries are different, we are developing principles with the Devolved Administrations to ensure continuity of care for people moving. These should be published in November.

Patient Choice Schemes

Neil Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to promote patient choice.

George Freeman: We are committed to patients having greater choice and control over their healthcare, as this can help drive up standards and improve patient care.   We believe that patient empowerment is vital to the National Health Service in the 21st century. This Government is committed to continuing to develop digital platforms to enable this to happen, such as My NHS and the NHS e-Referral Service.

Ovarian Cancer

Mrs Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to increase early identification of ovarian cancer.

Jane Ellison: We are investing £450 million in earlier diagnosis of cancer, including improving direct general practitioner access to non-obstetric ultrasound to support earlier diagnosis of ovarian cancer.   Public Health England ran a regional Be Clear on Cancer campaign early in 2014 to raise awareness of the symptoms of ovarian cancer. The findings of the pilot will be evaluated in 2015, and this evidence would inform any decision to move from a regional to national campaign.

Community Health Services: Devon

Sir Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will increase funding from the Better Care Fund to improve the transition of community services in Devon.

Norman Lamb: The Better Care Fund is a pooled budget of £3.8 billion to be spent on integrating Health and Social care. Local areas will decide how best to use their funding to transform the provision of services to their communities, both improving outcomes for people, and driving efficiencies.

Women and Equalities

Public Appointments

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Ministers for Women and Equalities, what public appointments her Department has made in each of the last five years; and what payments each person so appointed is entitled to claim.

Jo Swinson: Public appointments made by the Government Equalities Office in the last five years have been to the Equality and Human Rights Commission: Year20092010201120122013EHRC public appointments121127 For the last five years EHRC Commissioners have received fees at a rate of £400 per day (except for the Chair and Deputy Chair who are salaried). Commissioners also receive expenses for travel and subsistence in the course of their EHRC duties. Payments made vary considerably depending on each Commissioner’s role and the amount of time that each contributes. The table shows the range of remuneration paid to Commissioners during the period: Year2009/102010/112011/122012/132013/14Range of EHRC Commissioner salary or fees paid£2,366 to £124,000£7,000 to £124,000£10,808 to £147,000£2,167 to £65,000£10,000 to £55,838Range of EHRC Commissioner expenses paid £2 to £1,574£1 to £1,580£1 to £1,2600 to £1,7180 to £7,679

Pay

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Ministers for Women and Equalities, what information the Government Equalities Office holds on the number of sub-contracted staff servicing that Office who were not paid at or above the rate of the London Living Wage in each of the last five years.

Jo Swinson: The Government Equalities Office has not been serviced by any sub-contracted staff over the last five years.